A Racial-Gender Lens on Precarious Nonstandard Employment

• Published in: Precarious Work Vol. 31; pp. 183 - 213
• Main Authors: Branch, Enobong Hannah, Hanley, Caroline
• Format: Book Chapter
• Language: English
• Published: Emerald Publishing Limited 2017
• Subjects: Sociology; Work, economy & organizations; racial inequality; unequal returns to human capital; nonstandard work; Precarious employment; intersectionality; gender inequality
• ISBN: 1787432882; 9781787432888
• ISSN: 0277-2833
• DOI: 10.1108/S0277-283320170000031006

Abstract
We critique existing literature on the rise of precarious work because of its inattention to the historical organization of work by race and gender. We use intersectional theory to develop a racial–gender lens on precarious work, asking how do race, gender, and educational attainment shape exposure to insecure work. Historically, Blacks pursued education to mitigate against labor market discrimination with uneven success. Education has traditionally protected against exposure to precarious employment, but this association has weakened in recent years and the persistence of differential returns to human capital suggests that the relationship between education and insecure work may be racially contingent. We assess risk of exposure to precarious nonstandard work for racial and gender groups from 1979 to 2015 using data drawn from the CPS-MORG. We find that education is not equally protective across demographic groups and over time, contributing to inequality in access to stable, standard employment.