Commitment to Work and Wages: Earnings Differences of Black and White Women

Studies of earnings differences between black and white women consistently indicate that the major source of black women's lower annual earnings is their smaller human capital accumulation, in the form of schooling and their less prestigious occupations. However, this research also indicates that black women partially compensatefor these deficiencies by achieving a higher rate of wage return on their human capital and occupational status. In this study earnings models are examined for black and white women 30 to 44 years old. The results indicate that experience does influence differ ential wage returns to schooling and occupational status by enhancing the value of these characteristics for women with high education, greater prestige occupations, and extensive work experience. These analyses also provide support for an occupational decision-making explanation which contributes to observed differentials in wage returns to schooling.