Report reveals disparity that affects educational attainment and employment
By Ruth O'Kelly-Lynch
The study into young black males on the Island was one of the first to rely heavily on statistical data.
The report, which took two years to complete and cost Bermuda Government $200,000, looked at the educational attainment, earnings and employment of young Bermudian males aged 16 to 30.
The study used micro-data from the 2000 Census as well as date from many ministries on the Island.
It found:
• More than 50 percent of young black males enrolled in the public education system leave before obtaining their secondary school certificate.
• Approximately 24 percent of black Bermudian men have some post-secondary education as do 33 percent of white Bermudian men. However, a quarter of white Bermudian men have an associate degree or more; while only 15 percent of black Bermudian men do so.
• Construction industries are the single largest employer of young Bermudian men. While few young Bermudian men work in international corporations, the proportion of white Bermudian men who do so is three times the proportion of black Bermudian men.
• The proportion of black men who work in the hotel industry is twice the proportion of white Bermudian men who do so.
• The proportion of young black Bermudian men who are looking, unsuccessfully, for work is 14 percent; while the proportion of white Bermudian men who are looking, unsuccessfully, for work is eight percent.
• The study found the average young black Bermudian male earns $5,600 less than the average white Bermudian male. The report did not specify over what timescale this referred to.
• Black males from two parent families are only slightly disadvantaged when compared to their white male peers; however they are four times less likely to be enrolled in schools than their black female counterparts. This means the education advantages that black females enjoy over black males are exacerbated in two-parent families.
• Thirteen percent of young black males working on the Island earn less than $16,000 a year compared to ten percent of white males.
The 222-page report is available today on our website: click here.
