Interesting chart from the BLS on the U.S. wage gap by race, age, and gender.  Whatever the cause, it shows the U.S. still has a lot of work to do in closing these gaps through increasing the relative productivity of each group.

This makes fertile ground for politicians to divide and conquer the electorate.  The wage differentials don’t feel as acute when wealth is increasing, such as during a stock or housing boom and are magnified during busts.

(click here if chart is not observable)