Black-White Earnings over the 1970s and 1980s: Gender differences in Trends

Using CPS data to analyze black–white earnings trends, this chapter shows that black women fared better than men in some respects over the 1970s and 1980s, but in other important respects their experience was similar. On the one hand, over the period as a whole, black women experienced increases in both annual earnings and estimated wages compared to white women, while black men gained only in terms of wages compared to white men. Black women also made faster progress relative to white males than did black males. On the other hand, both groups experienced stagnating or declining earnings and wages relative to whites of the same sex during the 1980s, with younger blacks faring particularly poorly.