External Factors: Racism in wider society

Question 1

Overview

Answer 1

Some sociologists argue that material deprivation is itself the product of another factor – racism. Racial discrimination can lead to social exclusion & this worsens the poverty faced by some ethnic minority groups. E.g. In housing, discrimination means that minorities are more likely to be forced into substandard accommodation than white people of the same class.

Question 2

2

Answer 2

There is also evidence of direct & deliberate discrimination in employment too, e.g. Wood et al (2010) found that only 1 in 16 ‘ethnic minority’ applications were offered an interview, as against 1 in 9 ‘white’ applicants.

This helps to explain why members of certain ethnic minority groups are more likely to face unemployment & low pay, & this in turn has a negative effect on their children’s educational prospects through the effects of material deprivation