over a century ago, the patterns are gendered. The racial gap in health is larger for men than for women and there have been larger reductions in the racial gap in life expectancy for women than for men over time, reflecting the fact that, of the four racial and gender groups considered, black women have had the largest absolute gains in life expectancy between 1950 and 2006. Moreover, since 1970, the gender difference in life expectancy has been larger for blacks than for whites, with African American women enjoying a higher level of life expectancy than white men.
