WASHINGTON, DC, December 2, 2010 - A new study by a University
of Kansas sociologist shows that U.S. employers fail to pay Asian
American men as much as similarly qualified white men.
"The most striking result is that native-born Asian Americans -
who were born in the U.S. and speak English perfectly - their
income is 8 percent lower than whites after controlling for their
college majors, their places of residence and their level of
education," said ChangHwan Kim, an assistant professor of sociology
at KU, who led the study.
Full results of the study - "Have Asian American Men Achieved
Labor Market Parity with White Men?" - appear in the December issue
of the American Sociological Review.
According to Kim, who co-authored the study with Arthur Sakamoto
of the University of Texas at Austin, the findings show that the
U.S. falls short of the goal of a colorblind society.
"As an individual, you can reach as high as president," said
Kim. "But as an ethnic group, no group has reached full parity with
whites. That's the current status of racial equality in the United
States."
Kim and Sakamoto combed data from the 2003 National Survey of
College Graduates to investigate earnings - numbers that have not
been used previously in research on Asian Americans.
Among their other notable findings:
- First-generation Asian American men, who were born and
completed their education overseas, earn 29 percent less than white
men in the U.S.
- 1.25-generation Asian American men, those who earned their
highest degree at a U.S. institution, but were born and previously
educated in a foreign country, had incomes 14 percent lower than
those of white men.
- The only group to have achieved earnings parity with white men
is 1.5-generation Asian American men. Though foreign-born, these
men came to the U.S. as children, so therefore speak perfect
English and have U.S. educations.
Kim said that 1.5-generation Asian American men could benefit
economically from their parents' immigrant work ethic: "They see
their parents struggle, and they understand that their achievement
in the United States is actually their parents' achievement. It's
not their own goal, it's the goal for their whole family," he said.
"They actually have a burden of success."
Despite the disparity in income levels, Asian American men are
less disadvantaged than before the Civil Rights era in the U.S.
Advancement towards an end to racial discrimination continues,
according to Kim.
"The 8 percent difference is large, but it is small compared to
previous Asian American generations," Kim said. "Previous
generations had income levels much lower, so in this sense we've
made progress."
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