A Kansas University sociology researcher has found that Asian-American men earn significantly less than their similarly qualified white counterparts.

The gap is even true for Asian-American men who were born in the United States and speak perfect English. They earn 8 percent less than whites, even after factoring in college majors, places of residence and levels of education.

ChangHwan Kim, assistant professor of sociology at KU, led the study.

“We have not reached a color-blind society yet,” he said. “As an individual, you can reach as high as president,” but ethnic groups as a whole have yet to reach full equality with whites.

The research appears in the December issue of the American Sociological Review. Kim authored the article, titled “Have Asian American Men Achieved Labor Market Parity with White Men?” with Arthur Sakamoto of the University of Texas-Austin.

They used data from the 2003 National Survey of College Graduates to compile earnings data.

For Asian-American men who were born overseas and completed their education in a foreign country, the gap is even wider; they make 29 percent less than white men in the United States.

The study also found that Asian-American men who earned their highest degree at an American institution — but were born and previously educated abroad — had incomes 14 percent lower than white men.

Kim said the gap was shrinking, but “we still have some room to improve.”