Hilger recently used old census records to trace the fortunes of whites, blacks and Asians who were born in California during the early- to mid-20th century. He found that educational gains had little to do with how Asian Americans managed to close the wage gap with whites by the 1970s.
Instead, his research suggests that society simply became less racist toward Asians.
Asian Americans have been part of the United States for most of its history. The first major wave of immigrants came in the 1800s, when Chinese laborers flocked to California to help build railroads. Their presence soon stirred up resentments among white Americans. The Chinese Massacre of 1871, which took place in the streets of Los Angeles, counts among the largest lynchings in U.S. history.
The picture became much clearer when he compared people with similar levels of education. Hilger found that in the 1940s, Asian men were paid less than white men with the same amount of schooling. But by the 1980s, that gap had mostly disappeared.
n 1980, for instance, even Asian high school dropouts were earning about as much as white high school dropouts, and vastly more than black high school dropouts. This dramatic shift had nothing to do with Asians accruing more education. Instead, Hilger points to the slow dismantling of discriminatory institutions after World War II, and the softening of racist prejudices.
But if we take a page from Hilger and focus on people with similar educational backgrounds, the residual disadvantages become clear. Asians actually earn 5 percent less compared with whites who also have advanced degrees — while blacks and Hispanics earn 20 percent less
This is one of several problems with the model minority myth. (Here’s another.) Many people hold up Asian Americans as proof that hard work and education leads to success no matter your skin color. On the contrary, these statistics show that being a minority in the United States often means working harder to earn less.
アジア系アメリカ人をみてみろ、ああやって一生懸命働いて、教育に熱心になれば、出世して、いい暮らしができるんだ、と言って、アメリカ社会は必ずしも差別社会ではなく、黒人が無能で、怠けているから、いつまでもうだつがあがらんのだ、といった観念がまかり通っているが、それは違う、と。
アジア系アメリカ人の所得が上がったのは、アジア系に対する差別が減ったからである、と。同じ教育レベルでも白人よりも低賃金で働いていたアジア系の賃金が１９８０年代になってようやく白人に近づいてきた。それでも、高度の技術を要する分野で、同じ教育レベルでも、未だにアジア人は、５％ほど低賃金で働いている。黒人やヒスパニックにいたっては白人より、２０％すくない賃金で働かせている、と。
白人以外の有色人は、手枷足枷をつけられて生きているわけですね。
日本でも、単純労働に従事する外国人などについてそうした差別があるかもしれませんね。
