ETHNIC INEQUALITY

Question 1

What are the 4 explanations + sociologists for ethnic inequalities

functionalism

Answer 1

1. Ethnic inequalities are temporary and the result of minorities failing to assimilate. (Patterson)
2. Successful assimilation has resulted in excellent outcomes for minorities in the US. (Parsons and Clarke)
3. Ethnic minorities are the byproduct of cultural factors. (Roberts)
4. It is normal for the ethnic minorities to be at the bottom of the economic ladder (support with Modood et al example)

Question 2

who supports the explaination: Successful assimilation has resulted in excellent outcomes for minorities in the US. + their ideas

ethnic inequalities

Answer 2

PARSONS AND CLARKE
* Suggested that black americans were segregated and denied a large amount of civil rights.
* Due to a deep seated racist assumption surrounding skin colour, which was used as justification for the inequalities

Question 3

who supports the explaination: Ethnic inequalities are temporary and the result of minorities failing to assimilate. + their ideas

functionalism

Answer 3

PATTERSON
hosts were afraid of immigrants undermining the value consensus. Argued that racial & ethnic and racial prejudice was caused by 3 things:
* Host cultures fear of strangers, cultural difference and social change.
* The host cultures, particularly working class, resentment at having to compete with ethnic minorities for resources. (jobs and housing)
* Ethnic minorities tend to live in segregated communities rather than socially mixing .

Question 4

who supported the explaination: Ethnic minorities are the byproduct of cultural factors. + their ideas

ethnic inequality

Answer 4

ROBERTS
* Studied disparities between non-white minority groups in terms of outcomes and standards of living.
* Asian groups are more likely to be self-employed due to strong entrepreneurial traditions within asian cultures.
* Ethnic inequalities are not due to fundamental issues with society, but due to integrated issues within communities cultures, not easily fixed by societal intervention.

Question 5

who supports explaination: it is normal for the ethnic minorities to be at the bottom of the economic ladder. + their ideas

ethnic inequalities

Answer 5

SUPPORT WITH MODOOD ET AL EXAMPLE
* Functionalists believe its normal for ethnic groups not to be at the top end of a social stratification system because most are descendants from migrants.
* They will have to accept that they are going to be working in lower status, less well paid jobs.
* Idea that ethnic minorities lower position in society is due to a lack of skills and values.

Question 6

what are the 4 points for marxist theory of ethnic inequality + sociologist

Answer 6

1. there is a direct relationship between capitalism and racism (cox)
2. immigrants act as a reserve army of labour in a capitalist society (castles and kosack)
3. The ruling class divide the working class for ideological purposes (castles and kosack)
4. the ruling class uses the media to detract attention away from the capitalist failings (Hall)

Question 7

who supports the explaination: there is a direct relationship between capitalism and racism + their ideas

marxist ideas

Answer 7

COX
* cox suggested that idea of ‘race’ is itself just a human creation
* racism is somethind developed by exploiters against the exploited to justify exploitation.
* cox argues that early capitalism goes in hand with colonialism
* colonies justified their actions through racism

Question 8

who supports the explaination: immigrants act as a reserve army of labour in a capitalist society + their ideas

marxist ideas

Answer 8

**CASTLES AND KOSACK **
* studied immigrant work in Britain and found tha most immigrants were concentrated in low-skilled and low-paid manual jobs and carried out in poor working conditions.
* capitalists used them for a reserve army of labour
* a surplus of labour keeps wage costs down
* capitalist economies were inherently unstable
* immigrants were needed to be fired and hired as the economy fluctuates.
* e.g. covid 19- BME In high risk jobs no one wanted

Question 9

who supports the explaination: the ruling class divide the working class for ideological purposes + their ideas

marxist ideas

Answer 9

CASTLES AND KOSACK (the superstructure)
* countries after WW2 turned to immigrant labour to provide a necessary cheap pool of workers who could profitably exploited
* argued that this was through the divide and rule tactic- beneficial to the ruling class becuase immigrants were scapegoated
* allowed the capitalist class to divert the white working class’ attention from the real cause of inequality- capitalism.

Question 10

who supports the explaination: the ruling class uses the media to detract attention away from capitalist failings + their ideas

marxist ideas

Answer 10

HALL
* neo-marxism
* moral panics over black criminality in the 70s, creating a diversion away from the wider economic crisis
the stages:
1. major economic recession in 70s causing unemployment and cilil unrest- so government needed a scapegoat to divert attention away from capitalist system
2. media picked up robberies and created a moral panic
3. more police in areas- leading to more arrests
4. public attention was on black criminality rather than deeper problem of the capitalist sytsem.

Question 11

what are the 3 pieces of evidence for ethnic minority disadvantage in the workplace?

Answer 11

• GOV.UK
• wood et al
• parkin

Question 12

Gov.uk

ethnic minority disadvantage in the workplace

Answer 12

ethnic group’s Pakistani and Bangladeshi have the lowest employment rates; being 55%.

Question 13

Parkin

ethnic minority disadvantage in the workplace

Answer 13

• ethnic minorities use social closure to prevent ethnic minorities from reaching positions of authority and status,
• as a result, they face a concrete ceiling in the workplace.

Question 14

what are the 3 pieces of evidence for ethnic minority disadvantage in education?

Answer 14

• Mirza
• the department for education
• Gillborn

Question 15

Mirza

ethnic minority disadvantage in the education

Answer 15

• studied black caribbean gitls and found girls and found they faced institutional racism and negative labelling from teachers
• although, they resisted this and acheived highly.

Question 16

the department of education

ethnic minority disadvantage in education

Answer 16

• studied gcse results with the “avg attainment 8 score”
• white british= 46.1%
• Black carribean= 39.6%
• white british outperform the carribean

Question 17

Gillborne

ethnic minority disadvantage in education

Answer 17

• argues that black carribean boys face institutional racism at school
• they are put into lower sets- limiting their success
• this can narrow future opportunities

Question 18

what are the 3 pieces of evidence for ethnic minority disadvantage in media?

Answer 18

1. Van Dijk
2. Alexander
3. children now- fair play

Question 19

van dijk

ethnic minority disadvantage in the media

Answer 19

• content analysis to study representations of ethnic groups
• found a media stereotype of black people in 5 ways: criminal, abnormal, a threat, unimportant and dependent
• suggest their cultural practices are abnormal.

Question 20

Alexander

ethnic minority disadvantage in media

Answer 20

• asian youths in london are unfairly targeted by police and media
• myth of asian gangs where media reported violent crashes between black and asian gangs.
• asian boys criminalised due to islamaphobia

Question 21

children now- fair play (2001)

ethnic minority disadvantage in media

Answer 21

• ethnic minorities were stereotyped in video games
• 86% of heros were white
• 86% of black female characters were presented as victims of violence.

Question 22

what are the 3 pieces of evidence for ethnic minority disadvantage in crime?

Answer 22

1. Hood
2. social trends survey
3. the lammy report

Question 23

Hood

ethnic minority disadvantage in crime

Answer 23

• black men were more likely than white men to recieve custodial sentences for offences that have fines and community service
• proof of institutional racism in the police force

Question 24

The lammy report

ethnic minority disadvantage in crime

Answer 24

• over 40% of black people in custody are from BAME backgrounds
• BAME men & women make up 25% of prisoners
• the % of BAME prisoners increased to 41% in 2016

Question 25

social trends survey

ethnic minority disadvantage in crime

Answer 25

black people are 7x more likely to be stopped and searched than white people.

Question 26

what are the 4 webarian explainations of ethnic inequality + the sociologist

Answer 26

1. a disproportionate amount of the black and minority ethnic group population can be found at the bottom of the stratification pyramid (rex and tomlinson)
2. black and minority ethnic groups are more likely to hold lower positions in the marketplace (barron and norris)
3. a persons experience of inequality is influenced by the level of respect they recieve from others (parkin)
4. political parties and trade unions do not reflect the interests of ethnic minority groups (weber)

Question 27

who supports the explaination that ‘a disproportionate amount of the black and minority ethnic group population can be found at the bottom of the stratification pyramid’ + their ideas

webarianism

Answer 27

REX AND TOMLINSON
* defined class in terms of market situation- affect a persons life chances
* ‘underclass’ are trapped at the bottom of the stratification pyramid
* multiple forms of deprivation like low pay, poor housing and unequal access to education
* disadvantage worsened by hostility from white society
* ‘black underclass’ emerged- dont have same privilages and opportunities

Question 28

who supports the explaination that ‘black and minority ethnic groups are more likely to hold lower positions in the marketplace’ + their ideas

webarianism

Answer 28

BANNON AND NORRIS
* argue that theres a dual labour market- explaining employment patterns of minority ethnic groups
minorities are less likely than white workers to obtain primary sector jobs becuase...
* employees may subscribe to racist beliefs and discriminate against them
* employees may not respond to application
* legal and political framework supporting ethnic minorities are usually weak
* trade unions are dominated by white

Question 29

who supports the explaination that ‘a persons experience of inequality is influenced by the level of respect they recieve from others’ + their ideas

webarianism

Answer 29

PARKIN
* ‘negatively privilaged status groups- social class social closure strategies
* people in power exersise social closure- status groups are competitive
* create a concrete ceiling
* maximise societies “rewards” by restricting access to resources in the workplace to help justify their exclusion.

Question 30

who supports the explaination that ‘political parties and trade unions do not reflect the interests of ethnic minority groups’ + their ideas

webarianism

Answer 30

WEBER
* groups form order to gain power and it reflects and promotes their own interests
* trade unions and professional groups seem to be dominated by white members- ethnic minority groups voices arent heard
* shows that ethnic groups are less likely to exersise forms of political power

Question 31

what are the 4 new right explainations for ethnic inequality + the sociologist

Answer 31

1. cultural differences distribute to ethnic inequalities (MOOD ET AL)
2. inequalities faced by ethnic minorities are due to rising rates of unemployment (MURRAY)
3. lone parenting results in ethnic minority children from becoming more likely to partake in criminal activities (SEWELL)
4. inequalities are not a result of structural racism but rather the result of cultural values, personal responsibility and economic freedom (sowell)

Question 32

who supports the explaination ‘cultural differences distribute to ethnic inequalities’ + their ideas

new right

Answer 32

MOOD ET AL
(not a new right thinker- but supports ideology)
* some ethnic groups face langauge barriers which reduce their employment chances and found…
* 3/5ths of bangladeshi women dont speak english
* 1/5 pakistani pakistani/bangladeshi men dont speak english
* they have the lowest economic activity

Question 33

who supports the explaination ‘inequalities faced by ethnic minorities are due to rising rates of unemployment’ + their ideas

new right

Answer 33

MURRAY
* argued that USA had a growing underclass that posed a threat to society
* government policies were incouraging increasing numbers of americans being dependent on benifits
* welfare refoms led to an increase of unmarital black mothers & black youths from wanting a job
* benifits are counterproductive- discouraged motivation

Question 34

who supports the explaination ‘lone parenting results in ethnic minority children from becoming more likely to partake in criminal activities’ + their ideas

new right

Answer 34

SEWELL
(not a new right key thinker but supports)
* high proportion of black boys are raised in lone parent families in the uk
* in 2001 black families were lone parent families 55% compared to 25% white families
black boys lacked male role model and dicipline from father figures

Question 35

who supports the explaination ‘inequalities are not a result of structural racism but rather the result of cultural values, personal responsibility and economic freedom’ + their ideas

new right

Answer 35

SOWELL
* government intervention and belief that cultural factors play a major role in social outcomes
* **4 key areas that cause ethnic inequality **
1. cultural factors
2. governement intention
3. inaccurate comparisons of different ethnic group successes
4. fostering a victimhood mentality

Question 36

what are the 4 feminist explainations for ethnic inequality + sociologist

Answer 36

1. black women face multiple forms of disadvantage (abott et al)
2. class, race and gender combine to create multiple sources of inequality (brewer and TUC inequality briefing)
3. black women are portrayed and percieved as passive victims (mirza)
4. colonialism has caused gender inequality (conell)

Question 37

who supports the explaination that ‘black women face multiple forms of disadvantage’ + their ideas

feminism

Answer 37

ABBOTT ET AL
* black females are doubly disadvantaged
* they criticise feminism for being ethnocentric
* white feminists allowed to speak on behalf of black women but not other
* position of black minorities remains unchallenged
* critical of lack of centrality given to minorities in theory and research
* soc dominated by white middle class males- lack become underrepresented

Question 38

who supports the explaination that ‘class, race and gender combine to create multiple sources of inequality’ + their ideas

feminism

Answer 38

BREWER
* argues that race, class, gender combine to create multiple sources of deprivation & inequality
* suffer deprivation bc they are black, women and working class
* patriarchy, capitalism, racism (triple systems theory)

TUC EQUALITY BRIEFING
* almost 1/3 of black women report being unfairly passed over or denied a promotion at work
* 50% black women quit jobs bc of ethnic inequaluty

Question 39

who supports the explaination that ‘black women are portrayed and percieved as passive victims’ + their ideas

feminism

Answer 39

MIRZA
* theres not a need for a distinctive black feminists
* groups can make an important contribution to the development of feminist theory- change the disorted assumptions of dominant groups by drowning thir own experiences

Question 40

who supports the explaination that ‘colonialism has caused gender inequality’ + their ideas

feminism

Answer 40

CONELL
* colonialism played a major role in stoping gender inequalities
* argues that understanding colonial roots are essential for developing feminist thoeries levelled experiences of women have been shaped by this legacy
* systems that marginalised women- left impact on percieved gender