Race and Labor Force Participation in Accounting

Introduction

This paper reviews statistics across three occupational fields — accounting, waiter/waitressing, and commercial painting — using data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Drawing on the 1990 census report on occupations by race and gender, the paper determines the percentage of workers in the accounting field who identified as White American, African American, American Indian, Asian American, and Hispanic American, and also examines the gender division within that career field. These numbers are then compared and contrasted with two other occupational categories: waiter/waitressing, representing the service sector, and commercial painting, representing operators, fabricators, and laborers. The findings are further analyzed in light of articles on race and ethnicity by Kirschenman and Neckerman, Newman and Ellis, and Kandel and Parrado.

Statistical Profile of Accountants

According to the U.S. Census Bureau's 1990 census report detailing occupations by race and gender, there are significant differences in involvement in the accounting industry by ethnicity; however, gender was more evenly distributed. The report indicates that 751,840 (approximately 47%) males and 838,338 (approximately 53%) females were employed in the accounting field. Of these 1,590,178 workers, 86% reported being White. Only 6.7% of those in the accounting field reported being African American, 0.3% reported being American Indian, 5.4% reported being Asian American, and 4.2% reported being of Hispanic American ethnicity. These findings differ significantly from those found in the waiter/waitressing and commercial painting fields.

Comparing Waitstaff and Painters to Accounting Demographics

In the field of waiter/waitressing, the total number of employees was roughly comparable to that of accountants. In 1990, the U.S. Census Bureau reported 1,488,253 waiters and waitresses. However, the gender distribution across this occupation differs significantly from that of accounting. Where accountants were fairly evenly divided between men and women, waiting tables was clearly skewed toward female employees — 80% of waiters and waitresses were female, according to the Census Bureau's report. Racially, the percentages were more closely aligned with those found in accounting.

Eighty-eight percent of those in the waiter/waitressing field reported being White, compared to 86% of accountants. Just over 5.4% of waiters/waitresses identified as African American, compared to 6.7% of accountants. Seven-tenths of a percent of waiters/waitresses reported American Indian ethnicity, 4.3% reported being Asian American, and 7.9% reported being Hispanic American. These figures compare to 0.3%, 5.4%, and 4.2% of accountants reporting American Indian, Asian American, and Hispanic American identities, respectively. These ethnic breakdowns are remarkably similar to those found in the accounting field and continue to appear in the commercial painting sector — though, again, there is a significant difference in the gender breakdown when compared to the previous two occupations.

The U.S. Census Bureau's data on the painting field reveals dramatic differences in the proportion of males versus females. Unlike waiter/waitressing, this occupation is skewed heavily in favor of male workers: 85% of painters are male, roughly the inverse of the female proportion among waitresses. Yet the ethnic breakdowns remain quite similar to those of the accounting and waiter/waitressing fields.

Nearly 78% of painters reported being White American — somewhat lower than the 86% and 88% figures for accountants and waiters/waitresses, respectively. Other ethnic breakdowns for painters included: 11% African American, 0.7% American Indian, 1.7% Asian American, and 17.3% Hispanic American. The two most notable differences from the other two fields were the lower incidence of Asian American painters (roughly one-third the rate found among accountants or waitstaff) and the substantially higher incidence of Hispanic American painters (more than three times the rate found in the other two occupations).

Conclusion

Newman and Ellis specifically discuss fast food restaurant work and its relationship to minority workers. Despite excellent internal promotion programs in that industry, most employees, the authors argue, never come close to management. This, combined with the stigma associated with fast food work, makes it a challenging industry for workers of every racial background. Work of any kind is valued in America — yet these findings do not clearly map onto the differences observed across the three occupations examined here. One might expect that if any work were valued, a higher percentage of minority workers would occupy the more abundant, lower-skilled positions in waiter/waitressing and painting — particularly given the lower average educational attainment in certain minority communities. However, this was not what the data showed.

Kandel and Parrado discuss the growing Hispanic population in the United States, yet the correspondingly large increase in Hispanic representation expected in lower-skilled occupations relative to accounting was not uniformly found. While Hispanic Americans were markedly more prevalent among painters, their share among waitstaff was only modestly higher than among accountants, suggesting that simple demographic growth does not straightforwardly translate into occupational concentration at the lower end of the skills spectrum.

There were notable gender differences across the three occupational fields examined. Where accountants were nearly evenly divided between men and women, waiters/waitresses were heavily skewed female and painters were heavily skewed male. However, only modest differences appeared in the racial and ethnic breakdowns for these three occupations. Although painters showed a higher prevalence of Hispanic Americans and a lower prevalence of Asian Americans, most of the racial and ethnic statistics were broadly similar across all three fields. These findings appear to run contrary to what the scholarly literature might predict — that there would be a significantly higher incidence of minority workers in the lower-skilled, lower-education occupations, driven by employer stereotyping, educational disparities, and increases in minority populations. The 1990 Census data, at least across these three fields, do not strongly support that expectation.

Kandel, W. and Parrado, E. "Hispanics in the American South and the Transformation of the Poultry Industry." Rethinking the Color Line: Readings in Race and Ethnicity. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2008.

Kirschenman, J. and Neckerman, K. "We'd Love to Hire Them, But…" Rethinking the Color Line: Readings in Race and Ethnicity. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2008.

Newman, K. and Ellis, C. "There's No Shame in My Game." Rethinking the Color Line: Readings in Race and Ethnicity. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2008.