Gender equality in the workplace has been an obvious problem since women first left their "jobs" as housewives to work at a real job. Ethnic equality has also been an apparent problem that has been gratuitously ignored. But what about those who belong to both of these categories? Many women of a minority race have been getting the short end of the stick for years, yet no one seems to be doing anything about it.
It is a common trend worldwide for women to earn less than men. Although females" wages have increased 140 percent since 1960, there's still a long haul ahead (Gray, p.1). On average, women earn 73 cents for every dollar earned by men (Gardner, p.1). Why is there this difference? Is it because men are more qualified than women? Studies show that the gap between the wages of men and women is narrower in fields of work where the number of males and females are closer to equal. Yet in higher-ranking jobs, where males greatly outnumber females, the gap grows wider (Gray, p.1).
As for the gap in the earnings of various races, the figures aren't much more promising. In the early 1990's, African Americans earned 20 percent less than Caucasians. Many employers believe that minority groups are "less dependable" than whites are. Some employers seek minorities as workers solely to improve their image as a "diversified and cultured" business. Although numerous companies claim to be indifferent to ethnicity, most still ask job seekers to identify their race on employment applications ("Earnings Inequality Between Black and White Men", p.1).
While women make less than men, it has been shown that black women make 63 cents for every dollar a man makes. Hispanic women make 53 cents for every dollar a man makes. Believe it or not, the gap for black and Hispanic women has actually widened in past years (Gardner, p.1). These minority women are also said to be shown less respect by their colleagues and their employers.
