Wage Determination by Gender and Visible Minority Status: Evidence from the 1989 LMAS

The 1989 Labour Market Activity Survey (LMAS) is used to examine the wage implications of membership in groups distinguished by gender and visible minority status. White men, minority men, white women and minority women earn an average hourly wage of $14.73, $12.48, $11.33 and $10.97, respectively. We examine whether these rates and their pair-wise differences can be explained by productivity-related characteristics, and conclude that less then 30 percent of the offered wage differentials between white males-minority females, white males-white females and white males-minority males can be attributed to productivity-related factors. We also conclude that virtually none of the differentials between minority males-white females and white females-minority females can be explained by productivity factors. Approximately 11 percent of the wage differential between minority males and minority females is due to differences in productivity characteristics.