ETHNIC INEQUALITY Flashcards
What are the 4 explanations + sociologists for ethnic inequalities
functionalism
- Ethnic inequalities are temporary and the result of minorities failing to assimilate. (Patterson)
- Successful assimilation has resulted in excellent outcomes for minorities in the US. (Parsons and Clarke)
- Ethnic minorities are the byproduct of cultural factors. (Roberts)
- It is normal for the ethnic minorities to be at the bottom of the economic ladder (support with Modood et al example)
who supports the explaination: Successful assimilation has resulted in excellent outcomes for minorities in the US. + their ideas
ethnic inequalities
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
who supports the explaination: Ethnic inequalities are temporary and the result of minorities failing to assimilate. + their ideas
functionalism
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 .
who supported the explaination: Ethnic minorities are the byproduct of cultural factors. + their ideas
ethnic inequality
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.
who supports explaination: it is normal for the ethnic minorities to be at the bottom of the economic ladder. + their ideas
ethnic inequalities
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.
what are the 4 points for marxist theory of ethnic inequality + sociologist
- there is a direct relationship between capitalism and racism (cox)
- immigrants act as a reserve army of labour in a capitalist society (castles and kosack)
- The ruling class divide the working class for ideological purposes (castles and kosack)
- the ruling class uses the media to detract attention away from the capitalist failings (Hall)
who supports the explaination: there is a direct relationship between capitalism and racism + their ideas
marxist ideas
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
who supports the explaination: immigrants act as a reserve army of labour in a capitalist society + their ideas
marxist ideas
**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
who supports the explaination: the ruling class divide the working class for ideological purposes + their ideas
marxist ideas
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.
who supports the explaination: the ruling class uses the media to detract attention away from capitalist failings + their ideas
marxist ideas
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.
what are the 3 pieces of evidence for ethnic minority disadvantage in the workplace?
- GOV.UK
- wood et al
- parkin
Gov.uk
ethnic minority disadvantage in the workplace
ethnic group’s Pakistani and Bangladeshi have the lowest employment rates; being 55%.
Parkin
ethnic minority disadvantage in the workplace
- 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.
what are the 3 pieces of evidence for ethnic minority disadvantage in education?
- Mirza
- the department for education
- Gillborn
Mirza
ethnic minority disadvantage in the education
- 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.
the department of education
ethnic minority disadvantage in education
- studied gcse results with the “avg attainment 8 score”
- white british= 46.1%
- Black carribean= 39.6%
- white british outperform the carribean
Gillborne
ethnic minority disadvantage in education
- argues that black carribean boys face institutional racism at school
- they are put into lower sets- limiting their success
- this can narrow future opportunities
what are the 3 pieces of evidence for ethnic minority disadvantage in media?
- Van Dijk
- Alexander
- children now- fair play
van dijk
ethnic minority disadvantage in the media
- 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.
Alexander
ethnic minority disadvantage in media
- 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
children now- fair play (2001)
ethnic minority disadvantage in media
- ethnic minorities were stereotyped in video games
- 86% of heros were white
- 86% of black female characters were presented as victims of violence.
what are the 3 pieces of evidence for ethnic minority disadvantage in crime?
- Hood
- social trends survey
- the lammy report
Hood
ethnic minority disadvantage in crime
- 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
The lammy report
ethnic minority disadvantage in crime
- 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
social trends survey
ethnic minority disadvantage in crime
black people are 7x more likely to be stopped and searched than white people.
what are the 4 webarian explainations of ethnic inequality + the sociologist
- a disproportionate amount of the black and minority ethnic group population can be found at the bottom of the stratification pyramid (rex and tomlinson)
- black and minority ethnic groups are more likely to hold lower positions in the marketplace (barron and norris)
- a persons experience of inequality is influenced by the level of respect they recieve from others (parkin)
- political parties and trade unions do not reflect the interests of ethnic minority groups (weber)
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
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
who supports the explaination that ‘black and minority ethnic groups are more likely to hold lower positions in the marketplace’ + their ideas
webarianism
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
who supports the explaination that ‘a persons experience of inequality is influenced by the level of respect they recieve from others’ + their ideas
webarianism
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.
who supports the explaination that ‘political parties and trade unions do not reflect the interests of ethnic minority groups’ + their ideas
webarianism
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
what are the 4 new right explainations for ethnic inequality + the sociologist
- cultural differences distribute to ethnic inequalities (MOOD ET AL)
- inequalities faced by ethnic minorities are due to rising rates of unemployment (MURRAY)
- lone parenting results in ethnic minority children from becoming more likely to partake in criminal activities (SEWELL)
- inequalities are not a result of structural racism but rather the result of cultural values, personal responsibility and economic freedom (sowell)
who supports the explaination ‘cultural differences distribute to ethnic inequalities’ + their ideas
new right
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
who supports the explaination ‘inequalities faced by ethnic minorities are due to rising rates of unemployment’ + their ideas
new right
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
who supports the explaination ‘lone parenting results in ethnic minority children from becoming more likely to partake in criminal activities’ + their ideas
new right
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
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
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
what are the 4 feminist explainations for ethnic inequality + sociologist
- black women face multiple forms of disadvantage (abott et al)
- class, race and gender combine to create multiple sources of inequality (brewer and TUC inequality briefing)
- black women are portrayed and percieved as passive victims (mirza)
- colonialism has caused gender inequality (conell)
who supports the explaination that ‘black women face multiple forms of disadvantage’ + their ideas
feminism
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
who supports the explaination that ‘class, race and gender combine to create multiple sources of inequality’ + their ideas
feminism
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
who supports the explaination that ‘black women are portrayed and percieved as passive victims’ + their ideas
feminism
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
who supports the explaination that ‘colonialism has caused gender inequality’ + their ideas
feminism
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
