Unequal Treatment on the Job

American Indian workers earn considerably less than white workers in Minnesota. Average earnings of American Indian men who worked in 1989 were $15,327, which is only 58 percent of the $26,317 average earnings for white men. A similar but smaller gap existed between American Indian women and white women.

Table 8: Average Earnings in 1989
	White	American Indian	Earning Gap
Men	$26.317	$15,327	$10,990
Women	$14,188	$10,917	$3,271

There are some obvious explanations for this earnings gap. On average, American Indian workers are younger and have less formal education than whites, and both of these factors are related to lower earnings. American Indians are also less likely to have full-time year-round jobs. In fact, American Indian men worked an average of 400 hours less than white men in 1989, while American Indian women worked about 100 hours less than white women.

However, unequal treatment on the job may also explain much of the earnings gap. A study by the Urban Coalition and Dr. Samuel Myers, Jr. of the University of Minnesota found that age, education, hours worked and other factors that could be measured by the census could explain only 41 percent of the earnings gap between American Indian men and white men. The remaining 59 percent may be due to unequal treatment, discrimination, or other factors not available through the census. The same analysis suggested that 29 percent of the earnings gap between American Indian women and white women may be related to unequal treatment, discrimination or other factors. (Contact the Coalition for details.)

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The Well-Being of American Indian Children in Minnesota: Economic Conditions, 1994