Report: White and Asian male MBA grads make thousands more than minorities and women

The entire engine of Silicon Valley, as well as the corporate business world in general, runs on the idea of meritocracy: if you do well and put in the work, you get rewarded. But a study conducted by Bloomberg, which tracks the performances of MBA graduates in the years after school, shows that even at the same educational level, women and underrepresented minorities miss out on tens of thousands of dollars per year than their male counterparts.

The report shows that in 2015, white and Asian men made significantly more immediately post-MBA than their fellow black, Latino and Native American grads. In short, a white or Asian male MBA graduate earned an average of $172,000, while an MBA holder from an underrepresented minority earned an average of $150,000. Same degree, $20,000 per year difference.

Women also fared worse, both immediately after school and as the years go on, than all men. Starting with a pay differential at graduation, that gap grows significantly over time.

While a white or Asian male MBA holder with six to eight years’ experience earns an average salary of $181,000, a black, Latino or Native American man with the same degree and experience earns $163,000. Meanwhile, a white or Asian woman earns $150,000 with the same degree and years of experience. Women of underrepresented minorities fare even worse, earning just $132,000 per year — a difference of $49,000 per year from their white or Asian male counterparts.

Bloomberg surveyed MBA graduates from many different schools, and its research was even able to uncover discrepancies on a by-school basis, indicating that even when the degree is of the same prestige, underrepresented minorities and women still experience lower pay.

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➤ Business School Is Worth $22,000 More If You’re White or Asian [Bloomberg]