In 1979, black men earned, on average, about 80 percent of what white men earned ($15 per hour versus $19 per hour in inflation-adjusted dollars); in 2016, it slipped to about 70 percent ($18 per hour vs. $25 per hour). Although wages for black males increased, the gain lagged significantly behind that of their white counterparts. The gap also widened for black women, though the disparities were smaller. From 1979 to 2016, wages for black women fell from roughly 95 percent of what white women earned ($11 an hour versus $12 an hour) to about 82 percent ($16 versus $20).