How much do black English teachers get paid in China?
TweetMany foreigners in China are engaged in the English teaching industry. It's worth billions of yuan each year, and foreigners command high salaries. But it sometimes depends on your skin colour.
I know of at least two schools in Fuzhou alone who use a fairly rigid pay-scale for teachers working at their schools that is based on skin colour rather than qualifications or teaching experience. In order, it goes:
- 1. White US/Europeans: ie. white skin, born and raised in a native English speaking country.
- 2. Black or Asian US/Europeans: born and raised in an English speaking country, but with black skin or Asian features.
- 3. Other Europeans: for example, Italians, Swedes, Finns...
- 4. Black Africans: born and raised in an English speaking country in Africa.
- 5. Chinese teachers born in China and English as a 2nd language.
Now it's not hard and fast rules, and I know plenty of exceptions (everything is open to negotiation here), but I just know of a few places that structure their pay like this, that's all.
You might jump to the conclusion that there's a lot of racial discrimination here, and I agree for the most part. In general, there are prevailing attitudes towards all foreigners, and especially black people, that are pretty unpleasant. However, I'm not keen on promoting even more racial stereotypes or generalisations against China - you draw your own conclusions from this.
The racist element is the placing of native-English speaking black or other Asian teachers below white US/Europeans. It's not simple dislike, but a marketing concern - unfortunately, a white face is seen as more attractive in marketing terms (ie. on posters or walking around the school) than a black or other Asian face, regardless of English speaking ability. So, I've seen Americans born to Thai parents getting paid much less than me simply because of their skin colour. Similarly, I've applied for teaching jobs and been asked to supply a photo first - many school's are keen to hire based on skin-colour and looks.
The other aspect, which is more practical, relates to accent and language. In terms of accent, fluent English-speakers from non-US/European countries might carry a strong accent or regional 'patois' (eg. Singapore English or Indian English) which is difficult for students to assimilate. Similarly, many students who want to study abroad aim to learn standard American or British English. Often Chinese teachers themselves are unable to distinguish American/British/other English and so it's simply easier to stick to the colour-rule.
In contrast, Chinese teachers appear much lower on this pay scale than any other foreigner. It's strange, because many foreigners I've met here teaching English have scant qualifications or teaching experience, whereas many Chinese teachers have 5-10 years of hands on professional teaching experience. Although senior and experienced Chinese teachers do get rewarded, their pay rarely exceeds a foreigner's hourly rate.
Again, although there's a racial component to this blog post, I encourage you to draw your own conclusions. It's hard to write about a subject like this objectively and present all the information, but I hope in some way it helps you to understand life in China a bit more.