Broken Down by Race and Gender? Sociological Explanations of New Sources of Earnings Inequality

Abstract

Group gaps research risks irrelevance because new forms of earnings inequality are increasing inequality within groups. This review attempts to stimulate more broad-ranging research on earnings inequality beyond the study of average gender and racial gaps. After reviewing some of the problems with research on average group gaps, I provide a brief review of more recent attempts to transcend traditional group gaps research, and I point to some areas where there is still substantive neglect. The review ends with suggestions for ways to correct these problems and for inequality researchers to reconnect with a commitment to more comprehensive theoretical models that interrogate multiple sources of inequality.