A sadly unsurprising new study reveals that, on average, young minorities and women are not thriving in the same ways as white males, at least in terms of the pay gap.
Although more people in the U.S. are graduating from both high school and college, U.S. News and World Report cites that about three million young adults between the ages of 16 and 24 are neither in school nor employed, have earned less than an associate’s degree, and are living well below the poverty line.
Individuals who fall into this category are now labeled “disconnected youth.” This stems from a study performed by the Brookings Institution.
“These young people are missing key educational and employment experiences and are at increased risk for a host of negative outcomes: long spells of unemployment, poverty, criminal behavior, substance abuse, and incarceration,” the report said. “Rates of disconnection vary widely by metropolitan area, and in some places, young blacks and Latinos are up to three to six times more likely to be disconnected than young whites.”
Using U.S. Census Bureau data collected between 2008 and 2014, Brookings was able to find that 74% of young adults who are unemployed are between the ages of 20 and 24. A quarter of that group is African-American, 28% is Latino, and 40% are white. More than half of this specific population are women.
Regardless of how far they have gone in their education, young people, particularly young minorities, are experiencing higher unemployment rates. From ages 20 to 65, most Americans will work just over 90,000 hours in a lifetime, and they typically expect to earn a wage that allows them to live comfortably.
Pay gaps in the United States are still just as much of an issue as they have been in the past, if not more. This is especially true for both women and minorities.
According to the Parent Herald, young women and minorities who have recently graduated college are earning lower incomes than white males.
The wage gaps for women of color, transgender individuals of color, as well as disabled individuals of all races are all reported to be earning less than that of a white male. Additionally, recent black college graduates have a 9.4% unemployment rate.
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