Race, gender, and the labor market: Black and white women's employment

Abstract

Historically, black women's employment levels have exceeded those for white women. However, looking only at young cohorts of women, the employment levels of black and white women were equal by 1969, and by 1991 white women's employment greatly exceeded black women's employment. If this continues to be true for successive new cohorts, it suggests that, overall, white women will soon be working at significantly higher rates than black women for the first time in history. Identifying the determinants of women's employment today becomes an important issue not only for explaining the factors that affect labor market outcomes but also for explaining the prospects for black and white women in the labor market. Utilizing the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, I use event history methods to analyze the determinants of black and white women's employment in the contemporary U.S., and explain any race gaps in employment that emerge. My findings suggest that a race gap in the hazard of part-time employment exists among women in which the rate of part-time employment is lower for black than white women. This gap is explained by race differences in human capital and past welfare receipt. A race gap in the hazard of full-time employment exists among unmarried women in which the rate of full-time employment is lower for black than white women. This gap is explained by race differences in age, human capital, and past welfare receipt. I find that opportunities and constraints provided by the local economic environment, human capital, family structure, and past welfare receipt are an important influence on black and white women's employment.