Income Gaps: Overcoming Disparities Essay

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In spite of the developed and supported the concept of equality related to the aspects of the U.S. social and economic spheres of life, differences in the income levels of males and females who can belong to different ethnic backgrounds are still observed. It is important to note that women’s incomes are lower than men’s ones without references to race or ethnicity. Thus, the weekly earnings of the American women in 2009 are $657 in comparison with $819 characteristic for men (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2010, p. 3). Furthermore, according to the statistics data, the male Asian Americans receive the highest earnings even in comparison with the male white Americans (the weekly earnings are $952 and $845 accordingly) (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2010, p. 3). This tendency is fixed during the 2000s, and the gap in income regarding race and gender factors increases (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2010).

The causes of the racial and gender gap in incomes of the U.S. population are various. Women earn less because of choosing lower-paying professions to receive education and lower paying positions to develop their career later. Moreover, employers are inclined to hire men because of gender stereotypes and associated family issues. Although racial discrimination is prohibited, ethnic and racial stereotypes play an important role to affect the careers of ethnic minorities’ representatives. Employers demonstrate preferences in relation to white or Asian Americans because of their high educational level (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2010; Wilkinson, 2009). Hispanics and many black Americans have to occupy the lower positions in spite of the fact that the situation was changed to decrease the cases of prejudice and discrimination within society.

The income disparities related to families with the different racial background can be observed with references to the charts provided by the U.S. Census Bureau in 2011 for 2008. It is possible to note that the highest incomes are typical for the Asian Americans and white Americans when Hispanics have the lowest incomes. Focusing on the median income, it is possible to observe that the lowest numbers are characteristic for the black Americans and Hispanics’ families (U.S. Census Bureau, 2011, p. 455). That is why, the income gap based on the racial factor is observed in the American society where more than 11% of black Americans’ families and more than 8% of Hispanics’ families have the income under $10,000 (U.S. Census Bureau, 2011, p. 455). These numbers fixed for 2008 are also correlated with the data on the average earnings of the Americans in 2009 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2010).

The problem of the income gaps requires solution as any other issue associated with social and economic disparities. To reduce the income gaps characteristic for the American population, it is necessary to focus on the policies to prevent discrimination according to gender and race. It is important to start from the approach to education, and it is necessary to provide males and females with different ethnic backgrounds with the obvious equal opportunities to enter the university according to their choice. It is also necessary to correlate the social and economic policies and reforms in order to provide women with the opportunities not to choose between family and having children and their career development as part-time or full-time workers (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2010).

References

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2010). Highlights of Women’s Earnings in 2009. Web.

U.S. Census Bureau: Statistical Abstract on Income, Expenditure, Poverty, and Wealth. (2011). Web.

Wilkinson, W. (2009). Thinking clearly about economic inequality. Web.

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