The Price of Representation: Black Faculty Wages and the Myth of Meritocracy

• In Event: The Wages of Blackness: Black Women and Women of Color in the Academy

Abstract

The present QuantCrit study uses administrative data to examine systemic salary disparities among Black faculty in Texas public universities (N = 4,953). Through multiple regression, we interrogate how race, gender, rank, appointment type, and institutional classification structure compensation. Results reveal patterned inequities: Black men earn more than Black women, lecturers are underpaid relative to professors, and practice/research roles are devalued. Dual and clinical appointments correspond with higher salaries, suggesting institutional logics that reward proximity to traditional prestige metrics. By contextualizing statistical findings within systems of racialized labor stratification, this study challenges assumptions of neutrality in academic pay structures and calls for equity-focused institutional reform.

Authors

• Jemimah L Young, Texas A&M University

• Kristian Edosomwan, University of Houston

• Dalvin Trevon Dunn, Texas A&M University