People of color are underrepresented in jobs at oil refineries and chemical plants across the country, according to a new peer-reviewed study, with some of the most extreme disparities in Louisiana.
Differences in education do not explain these outcomes, the study found. The researchers at Tulane Law School and the University of Massachusetts Amherst discovered that when people of color are employed in petrochemical jobs, they are mostly working in the “lowest of the low-paying” positions.
The authors of the study, which was published in the journal Ecological Economics on Wednesday, say the research raises questions about the economic justifications of these sectors in local areas…