Gender, Race, and Class in an Intersectional Framework: Occupations and Wages in the United States

Abstract

Using family income as a class measure, this article explores whether gender and racial/ethnic gaps in hourly wages are the same across classes in the United States for 2015–2019. The study shows that the “mark of gender” extends beyond race/ethnicity and class. The conditional wages of women of any race/ethnicity are lower than those of any group of men of the same class (except that lower-class Asian women rank above lower-class Black men). Beyond differences in human capital, the wage disadvantage of Black and Hispanic workers, especially Black women, is (partially) associated with class stratification. Additionally, the study explores the role of occupations in explaining whether a group’s wage is above or below average. Black women’s wage disadvantage stems from occupational sorting, regardless of class. However, among White and Hispanic women, occupational sorting and underpayment within occupations are equally important. Occupational sorting does not seem to penalize Asian women. HIGHLIGHTS Intersectional analysis shows that in the US, class shapes the labor experiences of women and men of different racial/ethnic groups. Class limits White women’s progress in the labor market. Black women are overrepresented in the lower class beyond their educational levels. Occupational barriers are especially strong for Black women even in the upper class. Racial differences in conditional wages among same-class groups of women are small.