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As inflation continues to widen the wealth inequality gap in the U.S., anti-poverty charity organization Oxfam America reports that 47 percent of Black American workers earn less than $15 an hour compared to 26 percent of white workers.
Black workers, particularly Black women, are disproportionately represented in the low-wage workforce, according to a new Oxfam study released March 22. Half of Black working women and women of color earn less than $15 an hour, according to the Oxfam report.
The report found that nearly a third of U.S. workers (31.9 percent) earn less than $15 an hour, or about $31,200 a year. Women earn 83 cents on the dollar earned by every white, non-Hispanic man in the same job, Oxfam reported.
Oxfam researchers analyzed data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey and Current Population Survey. What described what they found as a “staggering” race and the gender gap in wages in the U.S.
For every dollar that a white man earns, female Black American workers in the U.S. are paid 64 cents, American Indian women are paid 60 cents and Latina or Hispanic women make 57 cents, ABC News reported.
These findings came as no surprise to some Twitter users.
“I feel like the headline was supposed to come off as shocking. But like, who is really shocked by things like that at this point? This country was built on racism and inequality towards women,” tweeted CercaSparkles (@lrobertscaSparkles).
“Women and people of color do much more than their fair share of low-wage jobs, and as wages lose value, it’s becoming a civil rights crisis in this country,” Oxfam America stated in the report.
In 25 states, at least 60 percent of working Black women and women of color earn less than $15.
These low wages, coupled with rising inflation, are making it financially difficult for families, researchers said.
READ MORE: Inflation and Black America
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The federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour. Low-wage workers and Democratic lawmakers have been calling for this to be raised to a “livable” $15 per hour nationwide, The Huffington Post reported.
A universal minimum wage of $15 per hour would lift millions of people out of poverty in the U.S. and help reduce growing wealth inequality, Oxfam researchers concluded.
“It’s been 13 years since Congress raised the wage floor in this country, and in that time, all costs of living have steadily climbed,” wrote Kaitlyn Henderson, senior research advisor at Oxfam America, in the report’s release. “It’s shameful that at a time when many U.S. companies are boasting record profits, some of the hardest working people in this country — especially people who keep our economy and society functioning — are struggling to get by and falling behind.”
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