The Earnings Gap between Black and White Workers in Canada: Evidence from the 2006 Census

Abstract

This paper investigates the earnings gap between Black and White workers in the Canadian economy using 2006 Canadian Census data. Several studies have examined visible minority earnings in Canada (e.g., Hou and Coulombe, 2010; Pendakur and Pendakur, 2011; Yap and Konrad, 2009). Recent research consistently finds that Black workers face one of the largest earnings gaps amongst ethnic groups in Canada (Pendakur and Pendakur, 2002, 2007; Hou and Coulombe, 2010). Nonetheless, the literature lacks an investigation of the combined impact of wage discrimination and occupational segregation on the earnings gap faced by Black workers in the Canadian labour market. Howland and Sakellariou (1993) as well as Hou and Coulombe (2010) highlighted the importance of occupational attainment differences in labour market outcomes. Consequently, this research suggests the need for occupational attainment to be incorporated into models investigating earnings gaps. We address the gap in the literature by utilizing the decomposition method developed by Brown, Moon and Zoloth (1980). This BMZ method extends the traditional earnings decomposition methods advanced by Blinder (1973) and Oaxaca (1973) by also identifying the role played by occupational differences. Specifically, the BMZ method estimates the portion of the earnings gap attributable to differences in productive endowments and to unexplained factors (i.e., the traditional decomposition approach) as well as extending the traditional approach by providing a calculation of the portion of the earnings gap explained by occupational attainment differences. The study finds that approximately one-fifth of the Black-White earnings gap (equaling $2,600) can be attributed to productivity-related endowment differences. Furthermore, the remaining four-fifths of the earnings gap (equaling $9,800) is attributable at the upper-bound level to occupational segregation and wage discrimination. In aggregate, the estimates of occupational segregation and wage discrimination translate into annual earnings losses of approximately $1.5 billion for full-time full-year Black workers in the Canadian workforce.

The Disabled Wage Gap between Social Enterprises and Capitalist Enterprises

“…One of the most common methods for measuring wage discrimination among different groups of people is the Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition technique. A number of articles by various authors address the wage gap that exists, for example, between males and females (Ashraf and Ashraf, 1993;Regan and Oaxaca, 2009;Nakavachara, 2010;Lechmann and Schnabel, 2012;Boll, Rossen, and Wolf, 2017), different age groups (Gannon and Munley, 2009;Mann and Wittenburg, 2015), ethnic minorities and the rest of the population (Ashraf, 1995;Fearon and Wald, 2011;Birch and Marshall, 2018), or between persons with and without disabilities (Johnson and Lambrinos, 1985;Baldwin and Johnson, 1994, 1995, 2000. The Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition technique consists in dividing the wage gap into two components: the component which can be explained by the employee's socio-occupational profile (and which in turn affects productivity), and the unexplained component, which cannot be explained by their profile and which may be due to factors such as discrimination (Blinder, 1973;Oaxaca, 1973).…”

Les dynamiques d’établissement, les enjeux scolaires et les ressources communautaires. Le point de vue de parents d’origine haïtienne et d’intervenants

“…La catégorisation « minorité visible » est parfois controversée à cause de son potentiel de contribution à la stigmatisation, de la difficulté d'appréhender la visibilité sociale (Beaud et Prévost 1999), de la complexité des facteurs qui structurent la minorité (le nombre et la dynamique de minoration) et qui induisent des choix politiques de régulation dans la société (Landes 2011). Cependant, pour plusieurs chercheurs, cette catégorisation permet de débusquer la discrimination systémique qui touche des groupes sociaux en fonction de leur ethnicité (Fearon et Wald 2011 ;Jain et Lawler 2004). Dans ce sens, on peut dire que le taux de chômage de cette communauté, rapporté à l'ensemble de son profil socioéconomique et en comparaison avec la population en général, pourrait en partie être expliqué par des phénomènes de discrimination.…”

Banking on Equity: Bay Street and Black Women’s Leadership in Banks

“…Burke's (1994) discussion highlighted that there are "very few programs that targeted women" and "relatively little is known about the status of women in Canadian organizations [banks]" and even less is known about [Black] women leaders (p.31). There is little discussion about the labour force experiences of Blacks in Canada, the literature suggests that Blacks generally have worse labour market experiences compared to whites and other visible minorities (Adams, 2011, Palmer & Sangster, 2008, including lower reported salaries wages (Fearon & Wald 2011), and higher unemployment rates (Mensah, 2002).…”