The skills have really gone up and the price has gone up. Technology exacerbated the wage gap. New minority workers hired at the low end of the wage scale earned even less than their predecessors had. Fernandez concludes that the wage gap can be tempered with good management. In the case of the food processor, low-end wages drifted down rather than plummeted, says Fernandez.
Decisions taken at the company level can have a significant impact.
Low-end workers who stayed through retooling did better, thanks to the way the company handled the transition. Technology is not a rising tide that has lifted all boats, says Fernandez.