Black women earn $1m less than white men over lifetime, study finds

Black women in the US earn almost $1m (£820,000) less on average than a white man over a 40-year career, according to a new report.

The typical black woman in full-time employment is paid only 61 cents (50p) for every dollar (82p) earned by white, non-Hispanic men, according to a study by the National Women’s Law Centre.

The organisation, which campaigns for women’s rights through litigation and policy initiatives, found the wage gap amounted to $23,653 (£19,500) a year.

Researchers said the disparity left black women $946,120 (£779,300) worse off over the course of a four-decade career. A black woman would have to work until she is 86 years old to earn the wages white man has been paid by the age of 60.

The study was released ahead of Black Women’s Equal Pay Day on Thursday, which marks how far into the year black women must work in addition to the previous 12 months to match the average white man's salary for last year.

On average in the US, a black woman would have to work until she is 86 years old to earn what a white man has been paid by the age of 60.

“When we are talking about almost $1m, we are talking about multiple houses and retirement security," Jasmine Tucker, the report’s author, told The Independent. "And that is just the straight-up earnings – you could have way more than that if you invested it."

American women of all ethnicities are paid 80 cents (65p) on average for every dollar earned by men.

But Ms Tucker, research director of the National Women’s Law Centre, said black women faced a "double whammy" of discrimination.

“Racism is a driving force,” she said. “Black women are facing not only a gender wage gap but also a race wage gap. It is a double whammy. Both sex and race discrimination are faced together. There is a great deal of racism in hiring practices.

"Studies show candidates with black sounding names might not even get an interview. There are also inherent problematic stereotypes about black women.”

She added: “Black women experience lower pay and less mobility in the workplace. They are very overrepresented in low wage sectors and very underrepresented in high wage sectors like finance, law, engineering, medicine or government.

“Women are instead concentrated in jobs in nursing homes or working as carers for people with disabilities and as cashiers in retail. I think women’s work is devalued. If women flock into jobs then that work becomes devalued because women are doing it.”

Louisiana was found to be the worst state for wage equality – with black women typically paid 47 cents (39p) for every dollar earned by white men.

California, Connecticut, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Texas, Virginia and Utah also have wage gaps that mean black women typically earn more than $1m less than white men during their careers.

The disparity is particularly wide in Washington DC, despite the city having the second smallest wage gap between women of all ethnicities compared to men.

Black women in Washington typically make just 51 cents (42p) for every dollar white earn, leaving them $1.9m (£1.57m) worse off over a 40-year career. It means they would need to carry on working until the age of 98 to make the lifetime earnings of a 60-year-old man.

Black women of every education level earn less, the report found.

Among doctorate degree holders, black women typically make 60 per cent of their white male peers' earnings, amounting to an annual loss of nearly $49,000 (£40,400).

Black women with professional degrees are typically paid 61 per cent of the average white man's salary, the study found. This adds up to a lifetime loss of more than $2m (£1.65.)

Researchers said black women also have the highest student loan debt of any racial or ethnic group. They owe an average of $30,400 (£25,000) for an undergraduate degree, compared to $19,500 (£16,000) for white men.