You have /5 articles left.
Sign up for a free account or log in.

A new Urban Institute report indicates that job outcomes and economic mobility are more tied to the race and gender of students than their level of education.

The nonpartisan research organization used federal data to compare occupational crowding (over- or underrepresentation of demographics in a specific job) and income levels to reach its conclusions.

For example, researchers found that Black men are underrepresented in 55 percent of occupations when compared to white men in the same occupations. And the average wage for men was $68,525, but Black men earned 79 cents on the dollar compared to white men.

“Quality disparities remain even after decades of increased educational attainment by people of color,” the organization said in a press release. “Workforce discrimination can create inequities unsolvable by higher educational achievement.”