American economics has been influenced throughout the years by various types of discrimination. Discrimination is defined by the Oxford Dictionary as the unjust or prejudicial treatment of differential categories of people or things, especially on the grounds of race, age, or sex. Despite the much advancement in workplace law, America still falls short in achieving an equal playing field across all categories. The economy of America continues to suffer today from the inequalities that exist from discrimination. Becker describes, “discrimination in the market place by any group reduces their own real incomes as well as those of the minority”. (127)
Discrimination affects our economy both directly and indirectly. New York Times wrote an article that describes discrimination as a form of economic inefficiency. Having people in positions that they are not qualified to handle just because they fit the mold while having more talented people of the minority groups not being promoted because they did not fit the mold. There are gifted people with skills that they are not given the opportunity to share and allow society to benefit from their knowledge. Discriminating against these groups of people keep them from reaching their true level of performance and keep them in careers that are below their potential level. Having people in high paying positions because they have the desired appearance is harmful to our economy.
Racial discrimination has been an ongoing issue for our economy, throughout history there has been many racial equality advancements accomplished. Dedrick Muhammad defines the essence of racial discrimination, “ racial inequality, then, has always been defined by economic inequality”. (1) Despite the change ...
... middle of paper ...
...refront of our discussions and movements. Without employed, motivated, and appreciated Americans, we will loose the ability to make these changes for our future generations. To be a successful America we need to grow as a Nation and break out of the limitations brought on by discrimination.
Works Cited
"American Money: The Economic Origins of Racism." BET.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Apr. 2014.
"Article - Ageism at Work." Helenmdennis. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Apr. 2014.
Becker, Gary S. The Economics of Discrimination. Chicago: U of Chicago, 1971. Print.
Conrad, Cecilia, Patrick Mason, James Stewart, and John Whitehead. African Americans in the US Economy. Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield, 2005. Print.
Nelson, Robert L., and William P. Bridges. Legalizing Gender Inequality: Courts, Markets, and Unequal Pay for Women in America. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1999. Print.
Black Economics In Black Economics William Raspberry offers a personal insight into the economics of the black American, but as he states Raspberry is “neither a businessman, an economist, nor a social scientist.” He presents his views without analysis and his solutions without a business outlook; instead Raspberry looks to the people for the cause and the answer. William Raspberry makes a bold effort by calling on his race, the African Americans, for both the cause and solution to their economic problems. Raspberry chooses to open up with two myths about race, helping to set the tone of the paper. The first myth he deals with is that “race is of overriding importance, that it is a determinant not just of opportunity but also of potential, a reliable basis for explaining political and economic realities . . . ” He explains that it is easy to see how race has assumed such importance in the mythology since slavery is the very reason blacks are present in America. Raspberry continues to elaborate on the topic of slavery to produce the central theme of the myth: the myth of white superiority. There are two things that flow from the “racism-is-all” myth that are used to account for the difficulties of blacks. The first, Raspberry states, is that it puts the solution to their difficulties outside their control, and second it causes blacks to think of their problems in terms of a failure of racial justice. With the second result Raspberry elaborates by calling on civil rights. Income gaps, education gaps, test-score gaps, infant-mortality gaps, employment gaps, business-participation gaps, as stated by Raspberry are all now talked about as “civil rights” issues. He points out that the gaps are real, but that describing them as “civil rights” issues steers us away from possible solutions, and that while doing this the problems grow worse. He offers a comparison to a group of poor whites that are in a similar economic standing as blacks and are granted their full civil rights. So how can the lack of civil rights be responsible for their economic conditions when other groups are just as bad off without the racism factor? So if the racism myth is not the cause of the blacks difficulties, then what does Raspberry offer as the reason? To him the operating myth of blacks accounts for their condition, leading them to focus on the misdistribution of opportunities.
While the wage gap was a term first introduced in the early 1940’s, the twenty-first century progress of women’s rights, specific to equal earnings between men and woman, is relevant today and remains greatly influenced by specific historical events. This paper will examine the cultural context of employment for white, middle-class, American women from the early 1920’s to present. Exploring the progression and integration of women into the workforce, detailing the forces and influences for change and examining critical court rulings, this paper will offer a perspective of the imeragey taken from the author.
In the United States, racial discrimination has a lengthy history, dating back to the biblical period. Racial discrimination is a term used to characterize disruptive or discriminatory behaviors afflicted on a person because of his or her ethnic background. In other words, every t...
Discrimination has always been there between blacks and whites. Since the 1800s where racial issues and differences started flourishing till today, we can still find people of different colors treated unequally. “[R]acial differences are more in the mind than in the genes. Thus we conclude superiority and inferiority associated with racial differences are often socially constructed to satisfy the socio-political agenda of the dominant group”(Heewon Chang,Timothy Dodd;2001;1).
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.
Institutions in the businesses sector are swarming in racial discrimination, much of which is covert and difficult to detect and prove. Racial discrimination excludes, marginalizes and exploits those citizens who are discriminated against, ceasing any opportunity for economic progress and development. Under certain regulations some businesses are required to diversify their workplace by hiring certain amounts of people of color, but in reality these small quotas do not do much for the overall condition of the people who are being discriminated against. Businesses that fail to take action on racial discrimination tend to have lower levels of productivity. This stems from employees not being interested in working hard, or because people with exceptional talents and skills choose to shy away from certain places of employment due to the fear of racial discrimination. Employees who feel wronged also tend to switch jobs, forcing the organization to spend more time and resources on hiring and training new employees, besides coping with the low productivity of a new employee. (Nayab)The effects of racial discrimination in the American work force could be identified with funded research on the topic. With ample data employers will be able to better understand the negative affects that racial discrimination have
In the United States, perhaps no ethnicity has dealt with more racial discrimination than African Americans. In the past laws were constructed that made social mobility for African Americans close to impossible and kept them as second class citizens. The system of slavery, forced Blacks to be exploited for the economic gain of white plantation owners, and after slavery, Jim Crow Laws discriminated against Blacks and solidified their economic racial inferiority. In the 1970’s this was a huge topic of debate. William Julius Wilson argues in his publication, “The Declining Significance of Race” that African American’s socioeconomic status has a lot more to do with class rather than race. Charles Vert Willie opposes Wilson’s assertion and argues
Four main topics where focused explaining where and why African Americans are being discriminated against, the topics include: job markets, consumer markets, housing stability, and financial impacts. According to their data, white Americans always outrank African Americans in income, health, favorability, etc. on an average scale. The main reasons for discrimination, either in the workplace or elsewhere, are caused by opportunity for financial gain as well as an unknowing cognitive process that everybody has. The report is a great source for information on current day issues in America and provides great data on affairs due to racial discrimination of African Americans. Both authors are experienced in the subject of discrimination and they have a lot of empirical data and references making their analysis that much more effective and
Discrimination is a prejudicial treatment of an individual based on an opinion that a discriminated person is a member of a particular social group. It is a treatment in the way that is worse than the way people are usually treated (Lee, 2003). Such an attitude involves denial of privileges or opportunities usually used by other members of society, negative attitude to discriminated people or even exclusion of a person from social life. A specific type of discrimination is employment disc...
Discrimination is known to exist in all workplaces, sometimes it is too subtle to notice, and other times it is exceedingly obvious. It is known that everyone subconsciously discriminates, dependant on their own beliefs and environments that surround them. However, discrimination can be either positive or negative in their results, and sometimes discrimination is a necessary part of life.
Today there is considerable disagreement in the country over Affirmative Action with the American people. MSNBC reported a record low in support for Affirmative Action with 45% in support and 45% opposing (Muller, 2013). The affirmative action programs have afforded all genders and races, exempting white males, a sense of optimism and an avenue to get the opportunities they normally would not be eligible for. This advantage includes admission in colleges or hiring preferences with public and private jobs; although Affirmative Action has never required quotas the government has initiated a benefits program for the schools and companies that elect to be diversified. The advantages that are received by the minorities’ only take into account skin color, gender, disability, etc., are what is recognized as discriminatory factors. What is viewed as racism to the majority is that there ar...
Historically, racial categorization has been imbedded in racism, and racial classification patterns have had a clear and unclear comparative ranking of various racial groups. Within the United States background, whites have always been at the top, blacks at the bottom, and other ethnicities amid. The socioeconomic disadvantage of African American people in the United States is the outcome of an extensive history of institutional racism and discrimination that has produced the current levels of detriment.
Introduction- Discrimination affects people all over the world. People of all ethnicities and from all different walks of life are influenced in some way by workplace discrimination. "Discrimination" means unequal treatment. One of the most common elements discriminated against is a persons ethnicity, or their race. This is called Racial Discrimination. While there are many federal laws concerning discrimination, most states have enacted laws that prohibit it. These laws may have different remedies than the federal laws and may, in certain circumstances be more favorable than the federal laws.
Women’s right to equal pay or gender pay gap has been a subject of discussion over the years in the united states, women perform similar jobs to men, but are paid
From the beginning of the 1600’s to current day, racial discrimination has become a huge issue in our society. Discrimination first took part in America when African Americans were brought to America to help produce and