For people of color, getting a master of business administration degree brings big career benefits, but the degree still doesn’t ensure equal pay with white classmates, according to a new study.

Going into M.B.A. programs, white students surveyed earned an average salary of $71,294, while minorities surveyed earned 24% less at $57,640, data from the Forté Foundation showed. Upon graduation, that pay gap narrowed to 16%, with minorities earning $101,505, on average, to their white counterparts’ $117,834. That is equivalent...