Mirrored Racial (Dis)Advantage by Gender: Racialized Household Division of Work and Earnings Gaps Between Whites and Minorities

Andrew Kim , University of Kansas
ChangHwan Kim, University of Kansas

Despite the suggestions of intersectionality theory, most previous studies do not report an additive disadvantage of minority women in labor market. Instead, research shows smaller racial earnings inequality among women than men. We argue racialized household division of work to be associated with the gendered patterns of racial earnings (dis)advantage in labor market. Using the 2012-2016 ACS, we show the mirrored patterns of racial (dis)advantage in annual earnings across earnings distribution between genders. Minority women earn significantly more than whites at the low-end of earnings distribution, but the advantage fades as earnings quantile rises. To the contrary, minority men tend to earn significantly less at the low-end of earnings distribution, but the disadvantage becomes weaker. Additional analyses suggest that the mirrored racial inequality by gender is related with relatively less-educated married whites in rural areas being more likely to follow traditional gender roles. Other implications of these findings are discussed.

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 Presented in Session 9. Marriage, Family, Households, & Unions; Gender, Race, & Ethnicity