We believe that Wednesday’s newspaper interpretation of the earnings gap statistics is misleading, and we must be very cautious in the interpretation and conclusions of the data as reported.
Before one makes the huge leap to attribute the earnings gap to discriminatory practices, one must compare the salaries paid for the same job categories. At a recent ICAB meeting, Dr Brimmer, Economic Advisor with Ministry of Finance, reported that he and his colleagues had completed extensive analysis of income data in Bermuda and concluded that virtually all of the differences in income levels between Bermudians of either race are fully explainable by differences in skill sets and education as opposed to race. The ongoing impact of past inequities in education and skill levels has resulted in an income distribution that is skewed with black Bermudians earning less on average than white Bermudians.
We would also suggest that correlating income with Bermuda status does not identify the correct cause for the differences. The root cause for differences in income is a correlation between job/income and education and skills. Census 2000 shows that 65% of blacks 16 years and older fell below the tertiary (college) education level, of this 34 % had not graduated from high school – in comparison 44% of whites had education below the tertiary level. The occupational growth from 1991 to 2000 for blacks for the top professional and technical jobs in absolute terms was – preschool professional (129), accountant (84), and middle school teacher (83). For whites it was accountant (479), underwriter (128), and lawyer (91).
The good news is that between 1991 and 2000 all segments of the community advanced academically, regardless of gender and race. The most obvious solution to historic inequity in opportunity is to provide Bermudians of all races with the skills and education required to enter any area of the workforce to which they aspire. The business community fully supports Minister James in the program of reform for education and we encourage everyone in the Island to participate in and support this important process.
ABIC has, through its education awards program , awarded almost 400 scholarships to Bermudian students since 1970, and many of those ABICEA alumni are in leadership positions in International Business. The ABIC award is a based on both academics and need, and recently a mentoring component was added to enhance the success of our scholarship program.
International business brings in more than 70% of the Island’s revenue and the newspaper story notes that the salaries paid in this internationally competitive sector are higher than in other sectors, which is to be expected. International business can be domiciled in New York, London, Switzerland or any of a number of competitive offshore domiciles -fortunately for us Bermuda has positioned itself as host to a vibrant international sector, with more than 60 % of all jobs in this sector being held by Bermudians. As expected , many of the top positions in International Business are held by guest workers who bring with them the experience and expertise developed in the major financial centers across the globe , and the inclusion of this group in a comparison of black and white Bermuda salaries produces a very different result to a straightforward comparison of Bermudian employees.
