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Racial inequalities for women in the workplace
Effects of institutional racism
Effects of institutional racism
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Introduction There are many factors that can influence economic status however, regardless of demographics or how equal things may seem for races in the same class; blacks are at a heavy disadvantage. Institutional racism does indeed exist. As a result of this form of racism our black women, men and children cannot get the leverage to excel in education, accumulate wealth, and climb social and economic ladders. This paper explores the obstacles that put blacks at an automatic socioeconomic disadvantage from birth, and how this disadvantage then effects how the black family operates. Black Families as a Whole The idealized American family can be described as a two-parent, male and female married couple living with their biological children …show more content…
But are two black families raised more similarly opposed to a white family? Kids are shaped and raised based on the environment they are brought up in. Do we teach our kids to be prepared in case there is no father figure in the house? Is that what is expected in the black household? Relationships are built off of an understanding on what the other person needs from it. Relationships can be more than just romantic notions, but we can get comfort, love, and friendship from a relationship that isn’t just from a spouse. Nowadays black women are expected to be the man and the woman of their households. Black women are almost expected to work a nine to five job and then come home to cook, clean, and raise their kids. Black people in America are already treated unfairly in the economy, with the unequal job opportunities and the racism in trying to keep all black people in an economically challenged bubble, but being a black woman in America is a double negative in this society. According to Malveaux’s (2013) study: Some experts believe that racial equality has been achieved in the U.S., and affirmative action has slowed. However, the evidence demonstrates that disparity still exists, especially for African-American women at the bottom of income distribution. Their economic status lags behind white women’s. For example, according to the Insight Center for Community Economic Development, the average net worth of a single, middle-aged white woman is $42,600; the average
William Julius Wilson creates a thrilling new systematic framework to three politically tense social problems: “the plight of low-skilled black males, the persistence of the inner-city ghetto, and the fragmentation of the African American family” (Wilson, 36). Though the conversation of racial inequality is classically divided. Wilson challenges the relationship between institutional and cultural factors as reasons of the racial forces, which are inseparably linked, but public policy can only change the racial status quo by reforming the institutions that support it.
Social and financial status have been the safety net or “go to” protection for African American people for many years back, leading one to assume education and an affluent life style could become a shield of protection over the black body. However, society has proven that your safety net ends where your skin begins. No matter how rich or established a person is, the fact will remain that they are black. Ta- Nehisi Coates describes his life growing up the ghettos of Baltimore. Throughout his book, Ta-Nehisi Coates repeatedly emphasizes that growing up his, “highest priority was the simple security of my body,” (p.130) Then he goes on to describe how his wife grew up in a more affluent and privileged lifestyle, a lifestyle that
(Moynihan, II 4). This assertion implies that due to the instability within the black family, socially, the Negro family would be unable to prosper.
In her book, Unequal Childhoods: Class, Race, and Family Life, Annette Lareau argues out that the influences of social class, as well as, race result in unequal childhoods (Lareau 1). However, one could query the inequality of childhood. To understand this, it is necessary to infer from the book and assess the manner in which race and social class tend to shape the life of a family. As the scholar demonstrates, each race and social class usually has its own unique way of child upbringing based on circumstances. To affirm this, the different examples that the scholar presents in the book could be used. Foremost, citing the case of both the White and the African American families, the scholar advances that the broader economics of racial inequality has continued to hamper the educational advancement and blocks access to high-paying jobs with regard to the Blacks as opposed to the Whites. Other researchers have affirmed this where they indicate that the rate of unemployment among the African Americans is twice that of the White Americans. Research further advances that, in contrast to the Whites, for those African Americans who are employed, there is usually a greater chance that they have been underemployed, receive lower wages, as well as, inconsistent employment. This is how the case of unequal childhood based on race comes about; children from the Black families will continue residing in poverty as opposed to those from the white families.
As the United States developed and grew, upward mobility was central to the American dream. It was the unstated promise that no matter where you started, you had the chance to grow and proceed beyond your initial starting point. In the years following the Civil War, the promise began to fade. People of all races strived to gain the representation, acknowledgement and place in this society. To their great devastation, this hope quickly dwindled. Social rules were set out by the white folk, and nobody could rise above their social standing unless they were seen fit to be part of the white race. The social group to be impacted the most by this “social rule” was the African Americans. Black folk and those who were sympathetic to the idea of equal rights to blacks were targeted by the Ku Klux Klan. (Burton, 1998) The turning point in North Carolina politics was the Wilmington Race Riot of 1898. It was a very bold and outrageous statement from the white supremacists to the black folk. The Democratic white supremacists illegally seized power from the local government and destroyed the neighborhood by driving out the African Americans and turning it from a black-majority to a white-majority city. (Class Discussion 10/3/13) This event developed the idea that even though an African American could climb a ladder to becoming somebody in his or her city, he or she will never become completely autonomous in this nation. Charles W. Chesnutt discusses the issue of social mobility in his novel The Marrow of Tradition. Olivia Carteret, the wife of a white supremacist is also a half-sister to a Creole woman, Janet Miller. As the plot develops, we are able to see how the social standing of each woman impacts her everyday life, and how each woman is ...
However, the hardships and misfortunes of other groups of women due to race, religion, sexual orientation, etc are not often mentioned because feminism has a widespread message and definition worldwide. In the United States, black women or any women with darker skin complexions were treated inhumanely and did not, also still today did not benefit from white privilege. As explained, referring back to the era of slavery up until the American Revolution black enslaved women were mistreated due to the color of their skin and they were without a voice because of their lack of power in a society where man had more power over women and blacks were overpowered by those with lighter skin. Overall, it is important to note and realize that all women were subjected to unequal treatment due to many variables, but some women more than others because of certain variables as
African American women are considered the most disadvantaged group vulnerable to discrimination and harassment. Researchers have concluded that their racial and gender classification may explain their vulnerable position within society, despite the strides these women have made in education, employment, and progressing their families and communities (Chavous et al. 2004; Childs 2005; Hunter 1998; Settles 2006; Wilkins 2012). Most people agree that race and gender categories are explained as the biological differences between individuals in our society; however sociologists understand that race and gender categories are social constructions that are maintained on micro and macro levels. Historically, those in power who control the means of production
Social Stratification in the African American community has changed over the years. Social stratification is defined as a rigid subdivision of a society into a hierarchy of layers, differentiated on the basis of power, prestige, and wealth according to Webster’s dictionary. David Newman in Sociology Exploring the Architecture of Everyday Life describes stratification as a ranking system for groups of people that perpetuates unequal rewards and life chances in society. From slavery to the present, the African American community has been seen to have lower status compared to white people. Today, the stratification or hierarchy difference between whites and black are not really noticeable, but it is still present. However, during slavery, the difference in social stratification was noticeable. Whites dominated over the blacks and mulattoes (offspring of a white and black parent). The mulattoes were seen to have a higher stratification than an offspring of black ancestry. Because the mulattoes were related to the whites, they were able to obtain higher education and better occupations than blacks. For example, most slaves of a lighter skin tone worked in the houses and darker slaves worked in the fields. As the people of light skin tone had children, they were able to have advantages too. The advantages have led into the society of today. In this paper I will discuss how stratification has been affected in the African American community over time by skin tone to make mulattoes more privileged than dark skin blacks.
Research studies have shown that African Americans are currently the least likely ethnic group to be married in this country. This paper will examine some of the reasons why this trend exists when there was a time when marriage rates among blacks were about equal to those of whites. History, culture, economics and dominant culture influences have impacted the current trends in African American families. Many are choosing to postpone marriage, while others are finding alternative ways to cultivate family and raise children. Does the African American definition of family differ from that of the dominant culture? How has ecological systems influenced past and present trends in African American families? These questions and more are examined in this paper.
From slavery to Jim Crow, the impact of racial discrimination has had a long lasting influence on the lives of African Americans. While inequality is by no means a new concept within the United States, the after effects have continued to have an unmatched impact on the racial disparities in society. Specifically, in the housing market, as residential segregation persists along racial and ethnic lines. Moreover, limiting the resources available to black communities such as homeownership, quality education, and wealth accumulation. Essentially leaving African Americans with an unequal access of resources and greatly affecting their ability to move upward in society due to being segregated in impoverished neighborhoods. Thus, residential segregation plays a significant role in
Family is a basic unit in every society. However, the makeup of a family is more complex to define. There are so many types of families that it is impossible to have one distinct definition in trying to explain how a true family is defined. For example, there are married couples with or without children, single-parent families, and even families headed by gay men or lesbians. These may not have been considered families not too long ago, but now must be recognized because we live in such a diverse society. What I want to focus on is the African-American family, in terms of what they had to go through before, during, and after slavery. As well as, where they are now and where it’s going in the future.
Society seems to have many different opinions when it comes to relationships and families and what is ideal. The ideal family may not exist anymore. We now have in our society families that are complete that do not necessarily contain the traditional material. The traditional family, as society would see it; usually consist of a married, mother and father and usually children. Moms are supposed to stay at home while dads work the forty-hour a week job. However, in our 2003 world, families exist in a lot of non-traditional ways. A lot of families now consist of single parent families, or same sex parents and their children, or even couples that are unmarried but live together. And even now, if a family contains what society sees as traditional as far as having a mom, dad, and kids, other aspects are not traditional anymore. Women now have more opportunity in the workplace than they have ever had, therefore, many moms are career moms and dads are sometimes staying at home. Years ago, these types of families were given labels for being dysfunctional or abnormal, however, this label is not holding up as well as it did years ago. There are many non-traditional families that are raising children in a loving, nurturing home with a substantial amount of quality love. Quality is the key in any relationship between anyone. Society is finding out that it is not the traditional image that makes a loving family, but the quality of a relationship that people give to each other is what really makes a family. In the essay "The Myth of the "Normal" Family", written by Lousie B. Silverstein and Carl F. Auerbach, they make references to the cultural idea of what a "normal" family should be and what i...
...r Era black men and their wives were powerful tandems that endured the struggle hand in hand. The Civil Rights Era is a period in U.S. history that conjures up painful memories yet it can be looked back upon as our finest hour. In U.S. history the phrase the "greatest generation" is used to describe the generation that fought in WWII yet their is another less mentioned "greatest generation" and it is the generation that navigated the turbulent waters of the Civil Rights and Black Power Eras. A well known fact of that period that continues to perplex scholars is the fact that during the time of Jim Crow and open racism ninety eight percent of all black families consisted of a man and a woman. What can be ascertained from that period is although we were oppressed and alienated we were unified. We loved and took care of one another because all we had was one another.
Structural racism is often experienced in the workplace, school, home and social justice system (Watkins). The median black family of the ninety-nine percent is worth $1,700, while the median white family is worth $116,800: that is nearly sixty-nine times more than the median black families worth (Weissmann). In 2014, the Pew Research Center found that the median white household was worth 12.9 times more than the median black household, even though the households had very similar incomes (Weissmann). “When it comes to finances, the U.S. has left the typical black household with just about nothing” (Weissmann). Researchers have found that the black population in America is usually bound to poverty because of the lack of opportunities for success that they receive (Watkins). The lack of opportunities now effects their ability to receive a quality education, getting accepted and maintaining a good quality job, and accessing resources to become home owners or to provide for their families (Watkins). This lack of opportunities is also leading to discrimination, problems with the criminal justice system, mental health and violence problems, and racial and cultural identities
Racism and discrimination along the lines of ability and age also contribute to poverty in women. Women of colour are underemployed and paid less than white women (Gaszo, 2010). They are also more likely to be employed ...