Watch CBS News

Associated Press Analysis: Black Americans Largely Left Out Among High-Paying Jobs

Follow KDKA-TV: Facebook | Twitter

BOSTON (AP) - Fifty years after the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King, black Americans are still struggling to gain a foothold in the nation's more prestigious and lucrative professions.

That's according to an Associated Press analysis of government data that found black workers are chronically underrepresented compared with whites in technology, business, life sciences, and engineering, among other occupations. Meanwhile, black are proportionately overrepresented in lower-wage fields, such as food service and maintenance.

In Boston - a hub for technology and innovation - white workers outnumber black ones by about 27-to-1 in computer- and mathematics-related professions, compared with the overall ratio of 9.5-to-1 for workers in the city. King earned his doctorate in Boston in the 1950s.

Experts cite numerous causes, including lack of educational opportunities and systemic discrimination in hiring and promotions.

(Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.