One of the greatest strengths of the early care and education (ECE) field is its diverse workforce. In California, about two-thirds of early educators are women of color, largely mirroring the racial and ethnic backgrounds of the children and families they serve. Yet a new report from the Center for the Study of Child Care Employment (CSCCE) at UC Berkeley shows that racial and ethnic disparities affect how much early educators are paid, the jobs they hold, and more.
The Multilayered Effects of Racism on Early Educators in California: An Examination of Disparities in Wages, Leadership Roles, and Education draws upon a 2020 statewide survey of 7,500 California early educators. The report provides details on disparities in wages, leadership roles, and education, and suggests policy solutions.
“The people of color who care for and teach California’s youngest learners are losing out, simply because of their race or ethnicity,” said lead author Yoonjeon Kim, Lead Research Analyst at CSCCE. “The lack of state policy helped to create these inequities, but policymakers can change that with standards that take individual biases out of decision making,” she said. “For example, the state’s new rate reform methodology should build in equitable salary standards that are tied to an equitable career ladder.”
The report finds that while the whole child care sector is poorly paid, Black and Latina educators:
- Are disproportionately employed in lower-paying roles.
- Are consistently paid less than Asian or White educators across job roles.
- Black educators are overrepresented among home-based providers, who are more likely to face resource shortages and economic distress.
White educators:
- Are more likely to serve in leadership roles and are consistently paid higher wages across job roles, regardless of education levels.
Though further education is typically associated with higher levels of pay, education pay premiums are not equitably applied across various racial and ethnic groups:
- Black lead teachers are not rewarded for obtaining higher educational degrees.
- Asian educators are often paid less when holding a higher degree.
- Black directors were even more likely than White directors to hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, but were paid lower wages than White directors ($27.00, compared to $28.70).
“Our findings fly in the face of the belief that more education leads to higher wages,” said Kim. The early care and education system does not reward all educators for attaining degrees.”
The report builds on CSCCE’s formative 2019 racial wage gaps brief, which was one of the first to look closely at inequitable pay within the national early care and education field.
Policymakers must address these racial and ethnic disparities and provide the public funding needed to support all early educators and a thriving early care and education system. The findings from this report and other California ECE Workforce Study publications can inform those policy changes.