Race/gender economic inequality: The confluence of residential and occupational segregation

The labor market is one of the most critical sites in which race, gender, and class inequality converge. I argue that racial stratification in the labor market is shaped by the social organization of the surrounding local labor market, which is manifest in patterns of residential segregation. Residential segregation is hypothesized to influence labor market outcomes in two ways: indirectly, via its effect on educational attainment, a critical determinant of labor market outcomes, and directly, independent of the effect of education.; This study utilizes a longitudinal design, the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, and Census Microdata to map the level of residential segregation experienced during an individual's youth onto two adult labor market outcomes, employment status and occupational segregation. This study examines: (1) the indirect effect of residential segregation on blacks' and whites' labor market outcomes in logistic and ordinary least squares regression models by assessing its influence on educational attainment. (2) the direct effect of residential segregation on labor market outcomes in logistic and ordinary least squares regression models while controlling for education. Race/gender interactions were added in the employment status analyses to assess the differential impact of residential segregation by race/gender.; The results revealed that blacks and whites from metropolitan areas with lower levels of residential segregation attained more education and were more likely to be employed. Interaction effects revealed that the effect of residential segregation on employment status differed by race/gender status. With regard to occupational segregation, black workers from metropolitan areas with lower residential segregation scores were less likely to work in occupations overrepresented by blacks: occupations which tend to be lower in occupational prestige and consequently pay. This effect is strongest when black women and men are compared separately against white men. Residential segregation had no effect on occupational segregation for white workers.