Devaluing Women and Minorities

Abstract

Are comparable worth policies an appropriate remedy for both race/ethnic and sex discrimination? The author's findings question whether similar processes of devaluation are driving the sex and race/ethnic pay gap. The National Longitudinal Survey of Youth is used to assess the effects of both the sex and race/ethnic composition of occupations (defined by cross-classification of occupation and industry) on wage levels. The results indicate that the percentage of White women in an occupation has a negative effect of the wage levels of most groups. The percentage of Black women, Latina women, Black men, and Latino men do not have consistently negative effects on wage levels, even when testing for more geographically localized effects. It is concluded that occupational devaluation does not contribute to the race/ethnic gap in pay in a manner analogous to that found from occupations dominated by females. Thus, comparable worth policies are not likely to help reduce the race/ethnic gap in pay.