Salary gap between whites and blacks is widening

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 2: The gap between salaries paid to white people compared to black people has widened, according to the latest Government employment figures.

Cordell Riley, president of Citizens Uprooting Racism in Bermuda (CURB) and a former Government statistician, said the figures suggested the recession had hit some sectors of the community harder than others.

He explained: “The recession has taken a toll more on people of colour — or people without wealth, if you want take it away from colour — as it has in the US.

“A lot of the whites in Bermuda, as we can see from elsewhere in the statistics, are employed in managerial positions, but even they have taken a hit in this recession. But for blacks, the recession didn’t start in 2007.

“In the US, the recession has taken more of a toll on the disadvantaged, which means they may have lost their jobs sooner.

“In Bermuda, it’s worrying because the gap wasn’t closing — now we see it’s widening.”

Mr Riley was speaking after Government employment statistics for 2010 were released.

The figures showed that the 2010 median average income for black people was $53,683 compared to $77,326 for white people — showing black people earned 69.4 per cent of a white person’s income.

The previous year, black people earned a median average of $52,303 — 70.5 per cent of the $74,176 earned by white people and 1.1 per cent down on 2009.

Mr Riley said: “A lot can be put down to the current recession and it will be interesting to see what happens next year.”

He added that the figures could also reflect that black people tended to lack the economic cushion of inherited wealth or property and a high level of savings.

He said: “One of the things lacking in Bermuda-based statistics is that income only tells a fraction of the story. We don’t have statistics in terms of wealth and I would like to see that. That kind of information is collected by banks already for loans and mortgages.

“I would like to see that kind of information included in government statistics and that would help to balance the statistics with more background knowledge.”

Mr Riley added that a bill designed to improve equity in the workplace was drawn up 2007 — but never went before Parliament.

He said: “The essence of what was in the Workforce Equity Bill was trying to ensure that blacks who had the qualifications were given priority in the workplace.”

No one from the Bermuda Employers’ Council could be contacted for comment yesterday.