Social Institutions and Inequalities: Work and Economy

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Work and economy is a social institution that includes many inequalities. There can be inequalities based on gender or race. Ore believed that work and economy inequalities could either give a person new privileges and opportunities or hinder them (Ore, 227). In other words these inequalities could help them move up their career ladder or keep them stuck in one position without promotion. There is also racial discrimination involved within the hiring process or in the workplace itself. Also gender may play a role in how a person is treated on a job. I will use the articles “Discrimination in a Low-Wage Labor Market: A Field Experiment” and “Racializing the Glass Escalator: Reconsidering Men’s Experience with Women’s Work” to further explain.
The article “Discrimination in a Low-Wage Labor Market: A Field Experiment” discusses how race plays a role within low wage jobs. Race can influence who employers hire or what types of jobs certain races perform. For example, there was an experiment done with three candidates: White, Black, and Latino. They had fake resumes created for them and all applied for the same jobs. In addition to their resume similarities they all had a “criminal background” that included a felony drug charge. Then these individuals must go apply for jobs and see who got hired. No matter their criminal background the white person got hired more often. This occurred even when the other races had more education and or experience. This shows that no matter the circumstance many employers would prefer to hire a white person over a minority; even if that meant having a criminal work for them. In my opinion this was a rather shocking discovery. In the second example, the basic setup was the same with some slight differenc...

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... However, it has affected the life of my parents. For example, my dad works at a small family owned library manufacturing company which he has been at for almost 15 years. He recently applied for a supervisor/team leader position. He was more than qualified since he has over 25 years of manufacturing experience and time invested in the company. He wasn’t selected for the job and it was given to someone that the company owner brought in; one of his daughter’s friends. Rumor around the company is that my dad was picked over due to race since he is black and the new hire is white. It goes to show that many companies don’t promote you due to experience. It’s mainly about favoritism.

Works Cited

Ore , T. (2014). The Social Construction of Difference & Inequality: Race, Class, Gender and Sexuality. (6th ed., pp. 227, 339-378). New York, New York: McGraw-Hill Education

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