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The Economic Progress of Black Women, 1940–1980: Occupational Distribution and Relative Wages

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  • James S. Cunningham
  • Nadja Zalokar

Abstract

This paper uses Census data on women's wages and occupations from the years 1940–80 to examine long-term trends in black women's relative economic status. The paper links black women's increased relative wages after 1940 to their entry, especially after 1960, into occupations and industries in which they were previously unrepresented, most notably factory jobs and clerical work. The authors find little evidence that convergence in the characteristics of black and white women (increasingly similar education, for example) is responsible for black women's increased relative wages and occupational status and conclude that black women's improved economic status after 1940 was largely due to decreases in racial discrimination by occupation and industry. They also find that in the South racial discrimination had greater adverse effects on black women, and began to decrease later, than in the rest of the country.

Suggested Citation

  • James S. Cunningham & Nadja Zalokar, 1992. "The Economic Progress of Black Women, 1940–1980: Occupational Distribution and Relative Wages," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 45(3), pages 540-555, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:ilrrev:v:45:y:1992:i:3:p:540-555
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    Cited by:

    1. Marlene Kim, 2013. "Race and ethnicity in the workplace," Chapters, in: Deborah M. Figart & Tonia L. Warnecke (ed.), Handbook of Research on Gender and Economic Life, chapter 14, pages 218-235, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    2. Joanna N. Lahey, 2017. "Understanding Why Black Women Are Not Working Longer," NBER Chapters, in: Women Working Longer: Increased Employment at Older Ages, pages 85-109, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Bailey, Martha J. & Collins, William J., 2006. "The Wage Gains of African-American Women in the 1940s," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 66(3), pages 737-777, September.
    4. Olga Alonso-Villar & Coral del Río, 2017. "The Occupational Segregation of African American Women: Its Evolution from 1940 to 2010," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(1), pages 108-134, January.
    5. repec:eee:labchp:v:3:y:1999:i:pc:p:3143-3259 is not listed on IDEAS

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