The career pathways approach to workforce development emerged to help workers with lower levels of formal education advance to better paying jobs by earning in-demand postsecondary credentials. The approach involves articulated steps of education, training, and jobs within an industry sector or occupational cluster, combined with other services and employer connections to support participant success. To advance the evidence base in the career pathways field, the Descriptive & Analytical Career Pathways Project (D&A CP Project) includes three sub-studies, each addressing different evidence gaps through distinct data sources and methods.

This paper on wage growth disparities was completed as part of the Career Trajectories and Occupational Transitions (CTOT) Study. This paper presents a new analysis examining gender and racial/ethnic differences in wage growth trends among workers who take jobs in mid-level occupations that require some preparation beyond a high school degree, but less than a four-year college degree—the types of occupations that career pathways programs generally target. Women and workers of color constitute a large proportion of individuals served by career pathways programs, and past research has shown large gaps in employment outcomes by gender and race/ethnicity.

The study used panel surveys that follow individuals for decades to examine wage growth 10 years after workers entered occupations. The study finds that otherwise similar workers entering the same mid-level occupations experience large gender and racial/ethnic disparities in wage growth.

The study also finds:
• Wage growth disparities widen steadily over the course of 10 years.
• When individuals are grouped by race/ethnicity and gender, Black and Hispanic women experience the least wage growth of all groups.
• Wage growth disparities are pervasive across occupational clusters.
• Women experience less wage growth than men despite being more likely to go on to obtain additional postsecondary degrees.
• Wage growth disparities cannot be explained by differences in other career-related outcomes, such as time spent not working or in advancement to higher-level occupations.

The other two sub-studies in the D&A CP Project include a Meta-Analysis Study and the Career Trajectories and Occupational Transitions (CTOT) Study.

In addition to this paper, the CTOT Study includes a full report from an analysis of career trajectories and occupational transitions; detailed appendices for healthcare, early care and education, information technology, and production/manufacturing; public use data; and a dashboard.

The D&A CP Project also produced a career pathways timeline as well as an early brief describing highlights from a scan of the research and an accompanying research and evaluation matrix.

The other two sub-studies in the D&A CP Project include a Meta-Analysis Study and Machine Learning Study.