Business

Study: Minorities in Retail Get Paid Less, Promoted Less

Published

10 years ago

June 3, 2015

Oakland Post

People shop at the Century 21 Department Store in Philadelphia. (Matt Rourke/AP Photo)

JESSE J. HOLLAND, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — African-American and Latino cashiers, salespeople and first-line managers are paid less, are less likely to be promoted off the floor and more likely to be poorer than their white counterparts in the retail industry, a new study showed Tuesday.

The study, done by the NAACP and Demos, a public policy organization, found that in the major jobs held by retail workers, African-Americans are paid the least, followed by Hispanics. They also are less likely to get full time jobs instead of part time and are underrepresented in management positions.

This could be a problem in the future for retail with the number of minorities in the United States steadily increasing, said Catherine Ruetschlin, a Demos senior policy analyst and co-author of the report.

“If workers from those racial and ethnic categories continue to be systematically excluded from opportunity, that means that our labor market will be serving less than half the population in a way that’s really meaningful for families who want to pursue the American dream,” Ruetschlin said.

There are 10 million non-Hispanic whites, 2.3 million Hispanic, 1.9 million African-American and 800,000 Asian workers in the retail industry.

More African-Americans work in retail than any other industry other than education and health services, according to researchers. But in retail, black and Hispanic workers are paid the least and given the fewest opportunities to advance, the study said.

Black cashiers average $9.17, while salespeople average $11.54 and first-line supervisors get $17.31. Those numbers are well below their white colleagues, who make $10.06 at the cash register, $15.32 in sales and $17.43 as supervisors.

Hispanics and Asians do better than blacks in most categories but worse than whites. Hispanic and Asian cashiers make $9.23 and $10.58, as well as $11.71 and $13.73 as salespeople. Hispanics lag behind black supervisors in pay, making only $15.38 but Asian supervisors make $18.12.

Not surprisingly, that means that African-American retail workers are also closer or further beneath the poverty line than similar workers. Overall, 9 percent of the retail workforce lives below the official poverty line, the study showed. But 17 percent of the African-American retail workforce lives below the poverty line, compared to 7 percent of white and Asian retail workers and 13 percent of Latino workers.

In addition to getting paid less, and being more likely to live below the poverty line, black retail workers are also less likely to get promoted out of their lower-paying jobs into management and professional occupations in retail. While African-Americans and Hispanics make up 14 and 17 percent of cashiers and 12 and 15 percent of retail sales, they only make up 8 and 13 percent of first-line supervisors, the study showed.

Whites make up 59 percent of the cashiers, and 65 percent of retail sales. But when it comes to first-line supervisors, their numbers jump up to 71 percent. The numbers of Asians stay about the same across all three positions, either 6 percent for supervisors and cashiers or 5 percent for sales.

Several cities and states are considering raising their minimum wage to $15 an hour.

Many companies also are making changes in their pay and in the hours they offer employees as the economy gets better and workers can get better jobs, said Dedrick Asante-Muhammad, senior director of the NAACP Economic Department and executive director of the NAACP Financial Freedom Center. But with high African-American unemployment, that shift has yet to affect black communities as much yet.

“We find in our communities we don’t have as nearly as tight of a labor market, so that means we can’t vote with our feet by leaving these jobs,” said Asante-Muhammad, who co-authored the report.

___

Jesse J. Holland covers race, ethnicity and demographics for The Associated Press. Contact him on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/jessejholland

___

NAACP/Demos report: http://action.naacp.org/page/-/economic%20opportunity%20documents/Retail_Race_Divide_Rename.pdf

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Activism

Oak Temple Hill Hosts Interfaith Leaders from Across the Bay Area

Distinguished faith leaders Rev. Ken Chambers, executive director the Interfaith Council of Alameda County (ICAC); Michael Pappas, executive director of the San Francisco Interfaith Council; and Dr. Ejaz Naqzi, president of the Contra Costa County Interfaith Council addressed the group on key issues including homelessness, food insecurity, immigration, and meaningful opportunities to care for individuals and communities in need.

Published

1 day ago

June 14, 2025

Oakland Post

Troy McCombs (from the state of Washington), Elder Mark Mortensen (from Irvine, CA), Michael Pappas, Rev. Ken Chambers, Dr. Ejaz Naqvi, Elder Sigfried Nauman (from the state of Washington), and Richard Kopf. Courtesy photo.

Special to the Post

Interfaith leaders from the Bay Area participated in a panel discussion at the annual meeting of communication leaders from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints held on Temple Hill in Oakland on May 31. Distinguished faith leaders Rev. Ken Chambers, executive director the Interfaith Council of Alameda County (ICAC); Michael Pappas, executive director of the San Francisco Interfaith Council; and Dr. Ejaz Naqzi, president of the Contra Costa County Interfaith Council addressed the group on key issues including homelessness, food insecurity, immigration, and meaningful opportunities to care for individuals and communities in need.

Chambers, said he is thankful for the leadership and support of the Church of Jesus Christ Latter-Day Saints’ global ministry, which recently worked with the interfaith congregations of ICAC to help Yasjmine Oeveraas a homeless Norwegian mother and her family find shelter and access to government services.

Oeveraas told the story of how she was assisted by ICAC to the Oakland Post. “I’m a Norwegian citizen who escaped an abusive marriage with nowhere to go. We’ve been homeless in Florida since January 2024. Recently, we came to California for my son’s passport, but my plan to drive for Uber fell through, leaving us homeless again. Through 2-1-1, I was connected to Rev. Ken Chambers, pastor of the West Side Missionary Baptist Church and president of the Interfaith Council of Alameda County, and his car park program, which changed our lives. We spent about a week-and-a-half living in our car before being blessed with a trailer. After four years of uncertainty and 18 months of homelessness, this program has given us stability and hope again.

“Now, both my son and I have the opportunity to continue our education. I’m pursuing cyber analytics, something I couldn’t do while living in the car. My son can also complete his education, which is a huge relief. This program has given us the space to focus and regain our dignity. I am working harder than ever to reach my goals and give back to others in need.”

Richard Kopf, communication director for The Church of Jesus Christ in the Bay Area stated: “As followers of Jesus Christ, we embrace interfaith cooperation and are united in our efforts to show God’s love for all of his children.”

Oakland Post

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Alameda County

Council Approves Budget to Invest in Core City Services, Save Fire Stations, Invest in Economic Development

I am most proud of our ability to fund these critical city services without the use of one-time fixes. We are still suffering the consequences of last year’s budget, where a majority of the Council, myself not included, chose to incorporate anticipated proceeds from the sale of the Coliseum to fund essential services. Since the sale has still not yet been completed, the lack of funds led to drastic cuts in city services, including the temporary closure of fire stations, staff layoffs, and the cancellations of many service contracts.

Published

1 day ago

June 14, 2025

Oakland Post

District 4 Oakland City Councilmember Janani Ramachandran. Photo courtesy City of Oakland.

By Janani Ramachandran, District 4 Oakland City Councilmember

On Wednesday, June 11, City Council took a bold step to prioritize investing in essential city services to get our beautiful Town back on track. As Chair of the Finance Committee, I am proud to have led a collaborative process, alongside Councilmembers Rowena Brown, Zac Unger, and Charlene Wang, to develop a set of amendments to the proposed FY 2025-2027 budget which passed successfully with a vote of 6 – 1. Despite facing a $265 million structural budget deficit, we were able to restore funding to ensure that all 25 fire stations remain open, fund 5 police academies, invest millions of dollars to combat illegal dumping and sideshow prevention, improve our permitting processes, fund a “business incentives” program to revitalize our commercial corridors, improve upon our homelessness prevention work, amplify the city’s anti-trafficking programs, re-instate our tree services division, staff up our Auditor’s office – all while preventing any layoffs of city staff, keeping our senior centers and after-school programs open, and crisis services like MACRO funded.

Our budget comes in response to the widespread and consistent calls from across Oakland’s diverse communities asking us to prioritize funding solutions to the issues that have most directly impacted our residents’ safety and quality of life. Our priorities are also inspired by our belief that Oakland is on the way not only to financial recovery, but also to global recognition. Oakland can attract and preserve businesses of all sizes with safer, cleaner streets. We can and will have more large-scale festivals that celebrate our culture, concerts that uplift our incredible local musicians, conferences that attract patrons from across the world, and award-winning restaurants that top national charts. We are on our way to rebuilding a thriving economy and having a cultural renaissance will create more jobs for Oaklanders while also generating more revenue for the City through sales and business taxes.

I am grateful for the close partnership with our new Mayor Barbara Lee, and know that she shares our values of ensuring we are prioritizing keeping Oakland’s residents safe, our streets clean, and our businesses prosperous in an open and fiscally responsible manner. I am also thankful to our City Administrator, Jestin Johnson, and former Interim Mayor Kevin Jenkins’ efforts to produce the initial proposal that our Council budget team used as a starting point for our amendments, and for their shared commitment to transparency and ethical government. I am especially grateful for every resident that took the time to make their voice heard throughout this rigorous budget process. I have no doubt that we are on the verge of true change, and that together we will bring Oakland back to being the world-class city I know it can be.