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Black women are now America's most educated group.
They're the most educated group in America, but they're still grossly underpaid.
05.27.16
<h2>Black women are now <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=72" target="_blank">the most educated group in America</a>, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.<br></h2><p>A higher percentage of black women — 9.7% to be exact — <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/black-women-become-most-educated-group-in-us-a7063361.html" target="_blank">are enrolled in college</a> than any other racial or gender group, including white men, white women, and Asian women. <br></p><p>It's the first time in American history that black women are leading the way in education. <br></p><p>And it's kind of incredible for <a href="http://www.globalpartnership.org/education/the-benefits-of-education" target="_blank">a multitude of reasons</a>, including the fact that <strong>education </strong><strong>reduces poverty, promotes gender equality, and helps to lessen the spread of various health issues</strong>.</p><p><div id="upworthyFreeStarVideoAdContainer"><div id="freestar-video-parent"><div id="freestar-video-child"></div></div></div></p><h2>So just what are these educated black women doing?<br></h2><p><span class="author-d-4z65zz66zl57z75zyiz66zfr2fz87zwz89znuj9uz86zjz88z5z79ziz84zz76z6z78zio9rbz70z3z79zz70zz70zz70zhz81zudz79zz90z">The number of degrees conferred to black students has <a href="http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=98" target="_blank">steadily been on the rise for two decades</a>. And </span><span class="author-d-4z65zz66zl57z75zyiz66zfr2fz87zwz89znuj9uz86zjz88z5z79ziz84zz76z6z78zio9rbz70z3z79zz70zz70zz70zhz81zudz79zz90z attrlink url">in the U.S.</span><span class="author-d-4z65zz66zl57z75zyiz66zfr2fz87zwz89znuj9uz86zjz88z5z79ziz84zz76z6z78zio9rbz70z3z79zz70zz70zz70zhz81zudz79zz90z"> between 2009 and 2010, <a href="https://www.freespeech.org/video/report-black-women-have-become-most-educated-group-us" target="_blank">black women specifically</a> earned 68% of associate’s degrees awarded to African-American students. </span></p><p><span class="author-d-4z65zz66zl57z75zyiz66zfr2fz87zwz89znuj9uz86zjz88z5z79ziz84zz76z6z78zio9rbz70z3z79zz70zz70zz70zhz81zudz79zz90z">Of black students, also earned 66% of bachelor’s degrees, 71% of master’s degrees, <strong>and 65% of all doctorate degrees, too.</strong></span></p><p>So yeah, black women are killing it.</p><p><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xOTQ3NDA0Mi9vcmlnaW4uZ2lmIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY2OTk1MjQ5NH0.O5BTnDPcgOxxCg85KUkg388jWyQHJmUIjO8GbDRXnEI/img.gif?width=980" id="6cd0c" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="a9fde7dbfc74fc14ae06f488c56d8e01" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image"></p><p class="image-caption">#BlackGirlMagic is totally real. GIF from Apple.</p><h2>But here's a kicker: While black women are the most educated group in America, they're still making substantially less than their white male counterparts. </h2><p><strong>About <a href="http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/US-Women-Earn-at-Least-20000-Less-than-Men-Across-the-Board-20151105-0016.html" target="_blank">$20,000 less per year</a>, to be exact </strong>— a ridiculously large gap.</p><p><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xOTQ3NDA0My9vcmlnaW4uZ2lmIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0MjI1OTMyOX0.0SYM2AIP13v-CoUydX_n05YhLKthUy9zfVMDloYsJdQ/img.gif?width=980" id="82d79" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="2f8c3d93733ee7e1118d521cb44387e0" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image"><br></p><p class="image-caption">Oprah says, "Not on my watch." GIF via "Oprah."</p><p> Unfortunately, this isn't super surprising. <strong>Every other demographic in America makes less than white men, too, but black women are on the significantly lower end of the wage bar. </strong><br></p><h2>What does this wage gap look like?</h2><p><span class="author-d-4z65zz66zl57z75zyiz66zfr2fz87zwz89znuj9uz86zjz88z5z79ziz84zz76z6z78zio9rbz70z3z79zz70zz70zz70zhz81zudz79zz90z"><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/wage-gap-women-of-color_us_570beab6e4b0836057a1d98a" target="_blank">On average</a>, an American woman earns about $39,000 per year compared with the $50,000 an average man earns. </span></p><p><span class="author-d-4z65zz66zl57z75zyiz66zfr2fz87zwz89znuj9uz86zjz88z5z79ziz84zz76z6z78zio9rbz70z3z79zz70zz70zz70zhz81zudz79zz90z"></span>If a woman were to work for 40 years, this would add up to a lifetime of around $430,000 of wages lost. <strong>For black women, that </strong><span class="author-d-4z65zz66zl57z75zyiz66zfr2fz87zwz89znuj9uz86zjz88z5z79ziz84zz76z6z78zio9rbz70z3z79zz70zz70zz70zhz81zudz79zz90z attrlink url"><strong>number jumps to almost $878,000 in wages lost overtime a lifetime.</strong></span></p><p><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xOTQ3NDA0NS9vcmlnaW4uZ2lmIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzMzk0ODAwMX0.0wQrEVko4N9oZN9G6agQYGcnd-T8pOCrfEv42oX1Q3Y/img.gif?width=980" id="1a398" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="71cf73a4489ae6281d0cb4790a4b57f5" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image"><br></p><p class="image-caption"><span class="author-d-4z65zz66zl57z75zyiz66zfr2fz87zwz89znuj9uz86zjz88z5z79ziz84zz76z6z78zio9rbz70z3z79zz70zz70zz70zhz81zudz79zz90z">Absolutely not. </span></p><h2>When any demographic is underpaid or understaffed, the effects are pervasive, and we can see that firsthand with black women.</h2><p><span class="author-d-4z65zz66zl57z75zyiz66zfr2fz87zwz89znuj9uz86zjz88z5z79ziz84zz76z6z78zio9rbz70z3z79zz70zz70zz70zhz81zudz79zz90z"><strong></strong>While the numbers of black women in higher-paying jobs are steadily increasing, <strong>black women are still largely underrepresented at the top of top-paying industries like <a href="http://www.aauw.org/2015/07/21/black-women-pay-gap/" target="_blank">engineering and computing</a>.</strong> Of the estimated 24% of women in the STEM workforce, a mere 2% of black women are represented in that group. </span></p><h2>Black women not having a seat at the high-wage table can be particularly damaging for their families, too. </h2><p><span class="author-d-4z65zz66zl57z75zyiz66zfr2fz87zwz89znuj9uz86zjz88z5z79ziz84zz76z6z78zio9rbz70z3z79zz70zz70zz70zhz81zudz79zz90z attrlink url"><a class="attrlink" data-target-href="https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/race/report/2013/11/07/79165/fact-sheet-the-state-of-african-american-women-in-the-united-states/" href="https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/race/report/2013/11/07/79165/fact-sheet-the-state-of-african-american-women-in-the-united-states/" target="_blank">More than 50% of black women with children</a></span> are either the sole or primary breadwinners of families, compared with <span class="author-d-4z65zz66zl57z75zyiz66zfr2fz87zwz89znuj9uz86zjz88z5z79ziz84zz76z6z78zio9rbz70z3z79zz70zz70zz70zhz81zudz79zz90z attrlink url"><a class="attrlink" data-target-href="https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/race/report/2013/11/07/79165/fact-sheet-the-state-of-african-american-women-in-the-united-states/" href="https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/race/report/2013/11/07/79165/fact-sheet-the-state-of-african-american-women-in-the-united-states/" target="_blank">40% of all of women</a></span><span class="author-d-4z65zz66zl57z75zyiz66zfr2fz87zwz89znuj9uz86zjz88z5z79ziz84zz76z6z78zio9rbz70z3z79zz70zz70zz70zhz81zudz79zz90z">.</span></p><p><span class="author-d-4z65zz66zl57z75zyiz66zfr2fz87zwz89znuj9uz86zjz88z5z79ziz84zz76z6z78zio9rbz70z3z79zz70zz70zz70zhz81zudz79zz90z">But currently, <a href="http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/07/14/black-child-poverty-rate-holds-steady-even-as-other-groups-see-declines/" target="_blank">38% of black children live below the poverty line</a>, a rate that has remained steady over the past few years while other groups have decreased.</span></p><p><strong>Equalizing wages could make a huge difference in the lives of African-American children by giving them access to better schools, healthier lives, and increased opportunities. </strong></p><h2>As Viola Davis stated in her historic Emmy’s speech:</h2><p><strong> "The only thing that separates women of color from everyone else is opportunity."</strong></p><p><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xOTQ3NDA0Ni9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzMjI3MjIwNH0.M4E9WbFuijTxDJTdZIvyqJND7gMzfIBhQno4_4zGyJw/img.jpg?width=980" id="bc901" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="db682bfbf29e1ed11b405f366e33fd94" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image"></p><p class="image-caption">Viola Davis teaching us all how to live at the 67th annual Primetime Emmy Awards. Image by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images.</p><h2>The good news is, black women don’t back down from a challenge. </h2><p>Right now, black women are <a href="https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/race/report/2014/10/30/99962/women-of-color/" target="_blank">voting at higher rates</a> than the rest of the population, <a href="http://fortune.com/2015/06/29/black-women-entrepreneurs/" target="_blank">starting more businesses</a> than any other groups of women, and creating opportunities for other black women to achieve even more.</p><p><strong>They have been doing to work to improve minority lives for years.</strong></p><p><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xOTQ3NDA0Ny9vcmlnaW4uZ2lmIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1OTQzNTc3NH0.nt0zSnXmqpz607zr3qZy8D1fqCEgcrtCkVh8xBdv7NA/img.gif?width=980" id="b749e" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="4149eed5a70a678d5866694b78498549" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image"><br></p><p class="image-caption">Yes, girl. GIF from "Sister Act 2."</p><h2>And when minorities are given a seat at the table of opportunity, we create a society that is strong, more understanding, and increasingly innovative.</h2>
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