The Wage Gap Between Black and White Workers Will Likely Get Worse
PayScale surveyed 216,000 respondents and found racial bias in performance reviews, pay increase decisions, and even referrals
Research consistently shows racial pay inequity is still widespread among the U.S. workforce. Even though the 1964 Civil Rights Act made it unlawful to discriminate against any individual with respect to their compensation on the basis of their race, bias still rears its head in subtle ways that impact the everyday lives and finances of Black Americans, as the current movement for racial equality calls out. And its effects are long-lasting: Pay disparities among Black and white Americans add up to stark differences in the accumulation of generational wealth. And there are signs that it could get worse.
Black communities across the country have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic from both health and economic standpoints. These disparities are plainly evident as reflected in the number of reported cases and deaths, where non-Hispanic Black Americans are three times more likely to be infected and twice as likely to die from Covid-19 than white Americans. At the same time, Black Americans are also more likely to be frontline workers, have lower average incomes and so are less likely to…
