Blacks

The survey disclosed that black professionals have a lower level of education than all professionals. A larger

segment of black professionals, 38 percent, have attained

a high school degree or less compared to 26 percent of all About half of both all professionals and

professionals.

black professionals have attained undergraduate but not advanced degrees. The significant difference in the educational achievement of black and all professionals is in the attainment of graduate degrees. Eight percent of black professionals hold graduate degrees while 21 percent of all professionals have attained graduate degrees. (Chart 16, p. 58 ).

An additional comparison which can be made is between the average salaries of white and black professionals with comparable levels of education.

This comparison discloses

that the average earnings of black professionals are 10

percent below that of all professionals.

This disparity

is smaller than that which exists if education is not con

sidered, 15 percent. The lower education of black pro

fessionals appears to account for part of their lower status,

Chart 16. PERCENT DISTRIBUTION OF MINORITIES AND WOMEN PROFESSIONALS IN DOL ACCORDING TO DEGREE ATTAINED, APRIL 1971

Source: See pg.220, part 6 for an explanation of how these distributions were derived.

but the major portion of their lower position remains un

explained by educational attainment.

(Table 7, p. 248).

Nonblack minorities

Nonblack minority professionals in the Department have

about the same level of educational attainment as all professionals. Comparing the average salaries of nonblack minority professionals with all professionals with the same level of education does not appear to explain the lower

salary of these employees. p. 248).

Women

(Chart 16, p. 58; Table 7,

The educational attainment of female professionals in the Department is somewhat lower than that of all professionals. A larger proportion of women professionals, 38 percent, than of all professionals, 27 percent, have up to a high school degree. On the other hand, the percent of women with undergraduate or graduate degrees, 44 percent and 19 percent, respectively, is slightly smaller than the segment of all professionals with these degrees, 50 percent and 21 percent, respectively. The difference in the average salary of women compared to all professionals with comparable

education, 16 percent, is nearly as large as the disparity

that exists when education is not taken into account.

(Chart 16, p. 58; Table 7, p. 248).

c. Age

The age of professional employees in the Department does not appear to shed any light on the underutilization of minorities and women. Among professionals, the average

age of blacks, nonblack minorities, and women

41 years,

is slightly below

the Department's average, 44 years. One item of interest is the high age of professionals in the entry level grades

GS 5, 7, and 9 - 34 years, 33 years,
34 years, 33 years, and 37 years, re-

On a rough scale, an additional factor that might explain the lower status of minorities and women could be their concentration in the administrations and regions with lower grade structures. BLS has the lowest average salary for professionals which is 20 percent below the average for professionals in the highest salaried administration, SOL. Among regions, professional employees in Chicago have the lowest average salary which is 10 percent below the

average earnings of professionals in Kansas City, the highest salaried region. Other than the under-representation of blacks in SOL, minorities and women do not appear to be concentrated in the administrations and regions with lower. (Table 8, p. 249).

grade structures.

Another factor to consider is the distribution of em

ployees between the National Office and the Field. The National Office has a higher grade structure, as the average salary of professionals there is 8 percent greater than for professionals in the Field. Blacks and women professionals

are heavily concentrated in the National Office, while nonblack minority professionals are mainly employed in the

Field.

Three-fifths of all black professionals and twothirds of women professionals work in the National Office, while over four-fifths of the nonblack minority professionals are employed in the Field. The large segment of nonblack minority professionals in the Field accounts for about half of the 5 percent salary difference between nonblack

minority and all professionals, Nationwide. 20 (Tables 1,

20/

This is derived by calculating the average salary of nonblack minority professionals assuming that they were distributed between the National Office and Field as are all professionals, and comparing this salary to that for all professionals.