Gender Differences in the Racial Income Gap for College Graduates

Last week JBHE reported that in 2004 blacks with a four-year college degree had a median income that was 90 percent of the median income of similarly educated non-Hispanic whites.

But it must be noted that when we break down the figures by gender we find that the superior performance of black women is responsible for the progress that has been made. In 2004 black males with a bachelor’s degree had a median income of $40,329, which was only 79 percent of the $51,184 median income of similarly educated white males. Thus, a very large racial income gap persists for black men who nevertheless have beaten the odds and earned a college degree.

On the other hand, black women with a bachelor’s degree had a median income of $33,877, which was 111 percent of the $30,413 median income figure for non-Hispanic white women who held a college degree. It is clear then that the strong income performance of black college graduates is largely due to the earnings performance of black women while higher education has failed to produce similar income gains for black men in comparison to white men.

Copyright © 2007. The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education. All rights reserved.