Inequality

Abstract

The issues of race and gender, and more precisely the issues of equal rights for everyone regardless of race and gender, continue to be controversial and never fully addressed. While programs like Affirmative Action have tried to provide equal opportunity, they have failed because of one main issue- if it is injustice to discriminate against racial minorities and women on the account of their race or sex, then it similarly unjust to give them preference for the same reason.

This essay will prove this statement by showing specific examples of how preferential treatment increases rather than decreases the importance of race and gender in American society. Basically, there are three main reasons why preferential treatment makes racial and gender differences important instead of eliminating them. First, preferential treatment gives the appearance that minority genders or races are inferior and need to be given advantage not on their merit or ability, but on their membership in a certain group (Cohen & Sterba, 2003), actually putting them at a bigger disadvantage.

Second, there is the issue of reverse discrimination, which basically means that by giving advantage to the minority, the majority is discriminated against in the long run. Lastly, the provision of programs like Affirmative Action and others create divisions between minority groups themselves, as each group vies for advantage over the others, which puts the minorities with the smallest numbers at the biggest disadvantage, as their voice cannot be heard clearly enough.

Perhaps the bottom line in racial/gender discrimination, ironically enough, is that true equality can probably never be realized, for one group will always come up with less than another if a program exists to provide advantages which are not strictly merit based. In closing, it is fair to say that until a “magic bullet” is developed for true equality, the scales will always be askew.

 References

Cohen, C., & Sterba, J. P. (2003). Affirmative Action and Racial Preference: A Debate. New York: Oxford University Press.

To what extent has poverty masked awareness of issues of child abuse in Africa? A study of poverty relief campaigns targeted at, or originating from, western countries”

Abstract

Child abuse is a global phenomenon that affects all societies and is driven by both the socio-economic factors and psycho-biosocial factors. Studies have, over the past few decades, shown an increasing prevalence of child abuse and a decline in awareness of issues of child abuse, with Africa reported to have the highest prevalence rates. The pervasive nature of child abuse and the lack of progress in creating awareness of issues of child abuse demand for urgent action to address this issue.

The proposed dissertation Seeks to examine the extent to which poverty in Africa has masked awareness of issues of child abuse in Africa. It comprises of an introductory section, rationale of the topic chosen, and literature review and the overall methodological approach that will be taken to address the objectives of the research. The literature review section presents the findings of previous research and identifies gaps or conceptual problems in existing research. The paper proposes the overall methodological approach which will be taken to gather data, and the sampling strategy that will be employed. Further, the paper identifies ethical issues and demonstrates how the validity and reliability of the research findings will be ensured

Introduction

Child abuse is a global phenomenon that affects all societies and is often driven by both the socio-economic factors and psycho-biosocial factors. The Female children are often the most affected with incidences of child abuse higher among the females than the males. According to a recent review by Pereda et.al (2009) that examined 65 studies from 22 countries, the global prevalence of child abuse was found to be higher among females, with estimates at 19.7% for females and 7.9% for male children.

The study also revealed that Africa has the highest prevalence rates of child abuse and that awareness of issues of child abuse in Africa has declined. The pervasive nature of child abuse and the lack of progress in creating awareness of issues of child abuse require urgent action to address this issue. Contributing to this topic, the proposed dissertation will examine issues of child abuse in Africa. In particular, the proposed dissertation will examine the extent to which poverty in Africa has masked awareness of issues of child abuse. This will include an exploration of poverty relief campaigns targeted at, or originating from, Western countries”.

Rationale of the study.

Children have a right to care and protection from abuse as specified under article 18 of the UNCRC (USAID 2011).Their right to protection is also upheld under the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC) (USAID 2011). While the UNCRC and ACRWC ensure the protection of the rights of children and recognize the state’s ultimate responsibility in fulfilling these rights, studies have recently highlighted the alarmingly large number of children who are exploited, abused and neglected (USAID 2011).

Child abuse has become a serious global concern and is particularly pervasive in Africa. Incidences of child abuse that are particularly common in the African continent include child marriage, child trafficking, sexual abuse, child prostitution and pornography; and neglect (Shumba 2007). In spite of its prevalence, there seem to be a lack of progress in creating awareness and addressing issues of child abuse in Africa. Poverty seems to be masking issues of child abuse in Africa.

Research objectives

The proposed dissertation draws attention to issues of child abuse in Africa. In particular, the analysis examines the extent to which poverty has masked awareness of issues of child abuse in Africa. As such, the research objectives of the proposed study include.

To understand the magnitude and nature of child abuse in Africa
To examine the extent to which poverty relief campaigns targeted at, or originating from, Western countries” have masked awareness of issues of child abuse in Africa
To contribute towards reducing child poverty and increasing awareness of issues of child abuse in Africa.
Literature review

Although child abuse is a global phenomenon, it is particularly pervasive in Africa. There is a widespread concern about the high levels of assault, sexual exploitation and abuse of children in Sub-Saharan Africa. A recent Human Rights Watch report of (2001) documented increasing cases of rape, assault and sexual harassment of schoolgirls in South Africa. In three provinces in South Africa visited by Human Rights Watch, it was found that schoolgirls were raped by their teachers in empty classrooms, school toilets, and hostels and even in the hallways.

Lema (1997) notes that sexual abuse of children in Sub-Saharan Africa has escalated over the past few decades. He also points out that, the situation seems to have taken a dramatic turn for the worst in Malawi where there have been increased incidences of reported child sexual abuse. A conclusion shared by most of studies is that child abuse in Sub-Saharan Africa is on the increase. Most of these studies have attributed the increase in child abuse to a range of factors such as breakdown of traditional culture, disintegration of clan authority, beliefs and rapid social change (Lalor 2004). Others view child abuse, especially sexual abuse as a product of modernization.

A feature of most of the African literature on child abuse is the perception that the abuse can in part be attributed to beliefs in the ‘cleansing’ nature of sex with children (Lalor 2004). As lema (1997) and Meursing et al. (1995) note, there seem to be a wider perception that sex with virgin girls may cure STDs and bring good fortune. While this finding may certainly seem true, the authors did not provide any empirical evidence in their studies. The extent to which such practices are carried out remain uncertain.

Lema’s speculations also reappear in the work of Madu & Peltzer (2000). While these authors acknowledge that the evidence is anecdotal, there is a danger in citing unsubstantiated anecdote as this leads to an undeserved credibility of the position held (Lalor 2004). Although a number of studies have identified a range of contributory factors causing the prevalence of child abuse, there remains disquiet in academia on the extent to which poverty has masked the awareness of issues of child abuse in Africa.

However, some authors have explored on the link between poverty and child abuse. Clark et al. (2007) & Larchman et al. (2002) have argued that the increase in prevalence of child abuse is largely attributable to increased levels of poverty. In fact, the mere existence of poverty has been labeled by Clark et al. (2007) as a form of abuse. They argue that when children from poor backgrounds are deprived of their basic elements, they suffer the same consequences as those whom these elements have been withheld intentionally (Clark et al. 2007).

Larchman et.al (2002) argues that the high levels of poverty in Africa have led to children being subjected to exploitative child labour, child trafficking and child prostitution. These authors also argue that while progress has been made to develop child protection programs, without the necessary steps to eradicate poverty in Africa, child protection will continue to be an academic issue.

A similar study on child abuse in Zambia by UNICEF (2001) showed that girls at the age of 12 to 15 years were forced by their parents to work in hotels, bars and brothels. Subsequently, a Human Rights Watch report (2009) showed that in 2004, more than 820,000 orphaned children in Congo were driven into prostitution for the survival of their families. Whilst it’s difficult to ascertain the scale of the problem, it is clear that poverty is masking issues of child abuse in Africa.

Children from poor backgrounds are being caught up in the daily struggle for survival and material gain (Larchman et al. 2002). This is the case especially in Kenya and Nigeria where parents send their children to the street to sell food, clothing and general merchandise, resulting in them becoming part-time street traders. Others are sent by their parents to beg in the streets. Whereas some others lead handicapped adults as they beg on the streets (Lalor 2004). Such practices in many respects are damaging to the lives of children and hold great danger for them. Some people may lure children by buying their wares and paying them to run errands.

Further, children from poor backgrounds who are sexually abused are often denied justice by parents who accept payoffs. When children are sexual abused, the persons responsible for the evil act pay their parents so that they won’t press charge (Shumba 2007). And since most of the African families are poor, they accept such pay offs and remain silent. Such a culture of child abuse is very common in Africa.

Clearly, poverty seems to be masking awareness of issues of child abuse in Africa. There is an urgent need to address the issue of child poverty and increase child abuse awareness in Africa. Given the close association between poverty and child abuse, it can be argued that the most effective way to address issues of child abuse would be to eradicate poverty.

Methodology

Research design

A key element of any research is to ensure an appropriate research design. As pointed out by Bickman et al. (1997), research design serves as the “architectural blueprint” of a research study. It comprises of the overall research approach, data collection methods and analyses of data. It links data collection and analysis activities to the research questions. In fact, the credibility and reliability of a research rests with the design implemented. For the proposed dissertation, the research design will be as follows:

Research philosophy

The research is going to take an interpretive philosophical approach. Not only will the researcher interact with the participants, but will also take into account the multiple versions of reality. Besides seeking the views of the participant on the extent to which poverty has masked awareness of child abuse issues, the researcher will also take into account counter-opposing views, explaining how poverty may not be masking issues of child abuse. The interpretive philosophical approach will enable the research to critically engage with the research topic, thereby providing rich insights.

Research approach

The overall methodological approach to the proposed dissertation will take the form of a mixed method research design involving a combination of both quantitative and qualitative research techniques. The advantage of the mixed method approach is that it combines the strength of both the qualitative and quantitative research approaches. As pointed out by Connelly (2009), the mixed approach is important as it draws on the strength and minimizes the weaknesses of the two research approaches.

Another important point to note is that the mixed approach will enrich the study by promoting clarity, accuracy and nuance (Connelly 2009). Research is more robust where it involves mix methods and more ethical in the sense that the plurality of interests and perspectives are represented (Connelly 2009). By combining both the qualitative and quantitative research approaches, the researcher will be able to produce a more comprehensive analysis of the extent to which poverty has masked awareness of child abuse in Africa

Interviews will be used to collect qualitative data. Semi-structured interviews will be conducted with key informants, particularly international NGOs that deal with issues of child abuse such as the Coalition Against Child Abuse & Neglect (CACAN), Coalition of African NGO working with Children (CANGOC), Coalition Against Child Labour in Zimbabwe (CACLAZ), and African Network for the Prevention and Protection Against Child Abuse and Neglect (anppcan). Interviews with such key informants will help in developing rich insights on the topic under investigation.

The researcher will also scour through published and peer-reviewed literature on child abuse in sub-Saharan Africa. Given the limited number of peer-reviewed studies that examine the extent to which poverty has masked the awareness of child abuse in Africa, the researcher have to utilize grey literature as well including unpublished data and research reports. Whilst the secondary data will be based on a systematic review, the researcher recognizes that a full systematic review of the relevant literature may not be possible owing to the lack of availability of resources. Nonetheless, much of the relevant literature will be captured from a range sources. The collated evidence will then be used to address the research objectives.

Sampling

Purposive sampling method will be employed in selecting the participants to be interviewed. Purposive sampling method has been chosen for this analysis as it gives the researcher latitude in selecting the sample according to the purpose of the study which is to examine the extent to which poverty has masked awareness of issues of child abuse in Africa. The study will be confined to four African countries: Zimbabwe, Malawi, South Africa and Kenya. A sample of 40 participants will be selected, 10 from each of the coalitions. The participants will be subjected to semi-structured interviews and asked questions about the extent to which poverty has masked awareness of issues of child abuse in the four selected African countries.

Reliability and validity

Interviews with key informants such as CACLAZ, CACAN, ANPPCAN and CANGOC will ensure reliability and trustworthiness of the research finding given their expertise in the field of child abuse. Also, the use of mixed method approach will be particularly useful in achieving triangulation thereby increasing the study’s reliability and validity. Triangulation of quantitative and qualitative data will enable the research to cross-check reliability and validity of the research findings.

Ethical issues

It is important to take into consideration ethical issues when conducting a research as ethical considerations provide a basis for the credibility and objectivity of a research. By ethics, we imply the appropriateness of the researcher’s behaviour towards the subjects or rather the application of moral standards when conducting and reporting of the findings of a research. For the proposed research, the researcher will first seek consent of the participants and ensure that participants are treated with respect and due consideration.

Participants will be assured of confidentiality of their information. The researcher will also assure the participants that the findings obtained will not be used for other purposes other than to investigate the extent to which poverty has masked awareness of issues of child abuse in Africa. Also when conducting the systematic reviews of published and peer-reviewed studies and other relevant documented materials, the researcher will acknowledge the authors’ contributions.

Possible limitations to the study

While the study has laid out the framework to achieving the research objective, it is without doubt that there are likely to be certain drawbacks. These include:

The research findings of the 4 African countries may not be generalized to represent the entire African continent
The research is also likely to be faced with time and budgetary constraints.
Given the dearth of information on how poverty masks awareness of issues of child abuse, achieving the objectives of the research is likely to be challenging.
Conclusion

To this end, the paper has laid out the overall approach to addressing the research questions of the proposed dissertation and the rationale for the chosen topic and research method. The paper has also identified the main ethical issues that must be taken into consideration. Further, the paper has shown how the validity and reliability of the research findings will be ensured.

While the objectives of the study seem achievable, it is without doubt that the research will be constrained by certain factors such as availability of resources, budgetary and time constraints. Nonetheless, the researcher is positive that the primary objective of the research, which is to examine the extent to which poverty has masked awareness of issues of child abuse, will be achieved.

Reference

• Bickman, L. and Rog, D.J., 1997. Handbook of applied social research methods. Oak: Sage
• Clark, R.E., Clark, J.F. and Adamec, C.A.,2007. The encyclopedia of child abuse. Infobase Publishing
• Connelly, L.M., 2009. ‘Mixed Methods Studies’. MEDSURG Nursing. Vol. 18, No. 1
• Handley, G., Higgins, K., Sharma, B., Bird, K. and Cammack, C., 2009. Poverty and poverty reduction in sub-Saharan Africa: an overview of the issues. Working paper 299
• Human rights watch, 2009. Soldiers Who Rape, Commanders Who Condone Sexual Violence and Military Reform in the Democratic Republic of Congo. New York:
• Human RightsWatch, 2001. Scared at school: Sexual violence against girls in South Africa. New York: Human RightsWatch.
• Lalor, K., 2004. ‘Child sexual abuse in sub-saharan Africa: a literature review’. Child Abuse & Neglect 28, 439-460
• Larchman, P., Poblete, X. and Ebigbo, P.O., 2002. ‘Challenges facing child protection: overview – lessons from the “South”’. Child Abuse & Neglect 26, 587-617
• Lema, V. M., 1997. Sexual abuse of minors: emerging medical and social problem in Malawi. East African Medical Journal, 74 (11), 743–746.
• Madu, S. N., & Pelzer, K., 2000. ‘Risk factors and child sexual abuse among secondary school students in the Northern Province (South Africa)’. Child Abuse & Neglect, 24 (2), 259–268.
• Meursing, K., Vos, T., Coutinho, O., Moyo, M., Mpofu, S., Oneko, O., Mundy, V., Dube, S., Mahlangu, T., & Sibindi, F., 1995. ‘Child sexual abuse in Matabeleland’, Zimbabwe. Social Science and Medicine, 41 (12), 1693–1704.
• Pereda, N., et al., 2009. The Prevalence of Child Sexual Abuse in Community and Student Samples: A Meta-analysis. Clinical Psychology Review 29: 328-38.
• Shumba, A., 2007. “Hidden Curriculum” Abuse in parts of Zimbabwe: is this a new form of child abuse or child labourAfrican Safety Promotion. A Journal of Injury and Violence Prevention, Volume 5, No. 2. UNISA Press and medical Research Centre.
• Simon, A., Hauari, H., Hollingworth, K. and Vorhaus, J., 2012. A rapid literature review of evidence on child abuse linked to faith or belief. CWRC Working Paper No.15
• UNICEF, 2001. “Rapid Assessment of the Incidence of Child Abuse in Zambia.” UNICEF,
• USAID, 2011. Child sexual abuse in Sub-Saharan Africa: a review of the literature. East Central and Southern African Health Community

Workplace discrimination has always been a main issue in the corporate world of today. Though several laws have been devised in order to prevent incidences of discrimination, the business world of United States of American still faces a tough time battling this issue.

As the following statistics per 2004 stated below elucidate, “The EEOC website indicates that in fiscal year 2004, it received approximately 27,696 charges of race discrimination and resolved 29,631 race charges in FY 2004, recovering $61.1 Million in monetary benefits for charging parties and other aggrieved individuals. The EEOC has observed an increasing number of color discrimination charges, which have increased by 125% since the mid-1990s – from 413 in FY 1994 to 932 in FY 2004” (About. com, 2007). Therefore, it is normal for my coworker to show any preference or bias based on what he wants but I believe this to be unfair as equal opportunities should be offered to everyone irrespective of any kind of discrimination.

Based on what I see, the candidate I have chosen is from a non-biased perspective and I believe she is going to be an asset to our company. However, my coworker does not list the reason as to why he does not find my candidate as a perfect candidate for the job. I believe she is qualified, experienced and above all, possesses all the qualities that we were looking for in the future candidate and will be an asset to our firm. There may be a few reasons as to why my coworker is hesitating to hire her for our firm. The first reason that I see is the fact that she is Hipic.

Racial discrimination against Hipic women as well as people from this race have been criticized and offered low positions since ages now. The preference has always been given to the “white community” and people of their origins. A “white” person can be considered as “hired” based on the color and origin itself. They are considered to be from a higher social status and therefore, my coworker being of the same origin is likely to show more preference towards people of his own category rather than hiring “immigrants” of any kind, irrespective of whatever qualities they may possess.

The Hipic people still face as well as in receiving education. As based on the survey conducted, “Eighty-two percent of Hipics responding to the survey said that discrimination is a problem that keeps them from succeeding in general, while 78 percent see bias as a problem in the workplace and 75 percent see it as a roadblock in the schools. The language they speak was the most frequently cited reason for this discrimination, followed by physical appearance. ” (Bates, 2003). The second reason that I see is the gender discrimination.

Women has always been viewed as inferior to men and due to the “male-dominated” world in the corporate culture, it is very likely that women who is extremely qualified to be neglected, ignored and are not offered higher positions only because she is a female and that due to the nature of her gender, she might take too many leaves such as when her children are not well or maternity leave (as well as compensation for it). Women have been known to occupy very few higher positions in the corporate world due to several reasons like these (Issacs, 2005).

Gender, ethnicity, and race inequalities and the issues surrounding them in the workplace have been on the forefront of society’s mind for decades. The problem of inequality in the workplace has become one of the most important and vital issues in our society today.

In order to understand fully the reasons for these inequalities, one must try to understand the factors that cause gender, ethnicity, and racial issues within the workplace, yet in this case, we will tend to focus mostly towards gender inequality in the workplace. One typically thinks locally in these situations, and Americans have fought hard for equality, yet over half of illiterate people throughout the world are females. Gender inequality is an issue that has been shaped by men from generations to generations.

Each man carrying down his own ideologies mixed in with the previous generation’s to create this mold that women are expected to conform and fit into. In America, women have fought long and hard to have many of the same rights as men. Education, the right to vote, and career status are just a few examples of some of the many important things these women fought for. In other countries, women are not as fortunate to have such a voice to be heard, and thus their fight ends before it begins. On April 11, 1996, President Bill Clinton proclaimed “National Pay Inequality Awareness Day”. The goal of the government was to change and eliminate discrimination in the workplace in 1972 when the Equal Employment Opportunity Act was established. The heart of both of these acts was and is to protect the individual’s rights as well as promote employment opportunities for everyone within the workplace. Obviously the government is aware and trying to prevent and protect the rights of these individuals through the passing of these acts; so the question remains what are the reasons why women, ethnic groups, and minority races still being treated unfairly at work?

The gendered income inequality can also be attributed in part to occupational segregation, where groups of people are distributed across occupations according to ascribed characteristics; in this case, gender. Occupational sex segregation can be understood to be made up of two directions. The first direction would be made up of occupational sex segregation and occurs as men and women are thought to possess different physical, emotional, and mental capacities. These different characteristics make the genders vary in the types of jobs they are suited for. This can be specifically viewed with the gendered division between manual and non-manual labor. The second direction is made up when occupational sex segregation occurs as occupations are stratified according to the power, authority, income, and prestige associated with the occupation and women are excluded from holding such jobs. An example of this type of gender inequality includes women that obtain a role in the workplace that is assumed for a man. Women have celebrated obtaining such roles, but once occupied, have had to fight to keep them.

Caitlin Crawshaw interviewed Gail Powley for her article depicting workplace diversity and quickly learned Gail’s success in such a role. Ms. Powley revealed that her secret was “It’s all about attitude, so when they saw my attitude wasn’t to make them change at all, but to find ways to work with them, they actually welcomed me” (2010, para. 2). Historically, inequality has favored white males relative to similarly qualified females, ethnic, and minorities especially in the workplace. Wage discrimination is the discrepancy of wages between who groups due to a bias towards or against a specific trait with all or other characteristics of both groups being equivalent. In the case of gender inequality, wage discrimination exists between the male and female gender. Gender inequality wage discrimination can still be seen clearly today in specific organizations and careers, i. e. food industry. In the workplace, a female chef must work twice as hard as her male counterpart when competing for the same Executive Chef position. If you were to ask any woman in that position, she would comply. She knows her challenge before it begins, so she must know in her heart how badly she wants the prize and be extremely confident in herself to achieve this position. If you were to ask her male counterpart, he would deny the accusation. He does not see her challenge however, that does not mean that it does not exist. The challenge in this same workplace would at least doubles if the female chef were African American, or Native American.

With or without the existence of this challenge, women have been gaining a steady foothold in the workplace. In fact, in America it has become a natural cultural trend for there to be dual incomes within the family and many families could not live the lifestyle that they do without the female’s contributing income to the family. This is the new norm in our local society. The new roadblock that we face now is when it comes to a single-income family in which the breadwinner is the female. So now the question becomes, why? Why is this idea so difficult for us to accept? Stay at home dads, aka; Mr. Mom’s, are becoming more and more a trend of today. Some of the factors that go into a decision like this are things like benefits, childcare, and which earner has the bigger income. Kathleen Gerson (2007) offers her view on this social attitude by stating that, “We are all quite comfortable with the dual-earner household. It’s become a cultural template, but for some reason we hit a roadblock when it comes to single-income households where the single earner is a woman” (para. ). According to Gerson’s research as well, the number of households where the wife is the primary earner of the home jumped from about 4. 1% in 1970 to 7% in 2000 (2007, para. 8). This statistic is hard to accept in our economy today because it is almost a necessity for the presence of a dual income to survive and adequately provide for the family. One study has shown that a marriage that has both husband and a wife providing for the family is more satisfying than a marriage with only one sole income. Even though women struggle with keeping up with the men in the workplace, they also struggle with additional obstacles at home as well. What they experience here is a type of career discrimination because they, more than men will experience conflict between their work and home responsibilities. This conflict is intensified if the woman holds the primary responsibility for childcare because they naturally take on the role of the nurturer of the family. Other sacrifices that women will make in their career that men will not are things like maternity leave and extra sick days in order to take care of sick children.

Because of these factors, some women feel the intense pressure to choose between that of having a career or having a family. A study that Lauer and Lauer reported states that out of 51 women, “faculty members reported that a higher proportion of younger faculty women chose to remain childless or to have fewer children than older faulty women, primarily because of the requirements of getting tenure and promotion” (2006, p. 200). The glass window effect is also considered a possible contributor to the gender income inequality. This ideology suggests that significant disadvantages exist towards the top of the career ladder which becomes worse as a person’s career goes on. The term glass window indicates that there are invisible barriers that exist that prevent women from advancements in their careers and promotions. These barriers exist in spite of the achievements or qualifications of the women trying to achieve these positions. Even further, these barriers continue to exist when other job-relevant characteristics are achieved like experience, education, and abilities.

There are few women holding these higher-powered, high income positions due to this glass window effect. This effect also indicates the existence of limited chances of women for income raises, promotion, or advancement to more prestigious positions or jobs and increase over the course of a woman’s career. The gender income earnings ratio indicates the existence of an increase in women’s earnings comparative to men. Men’s wages reached a plateau in the late 1970’s which allowed for women’s incomes to gradually close in the ratio between the two. Despite the smaller ratio between men and women’s incomes, inequality continues to exist. Even more, this income gap varies widely within different races as well. Whites comparatively have the greatest income gap between the genders. Within the Caucasian race, women earn 78% of the wages that Caucasian men do. Comparatively, African American women earn 90% of the wages African American men do and Hipic women earn 88% of the wages that Hipic men do. There are some exceptions in which women earn more than men, although they are rare.

Other inequalities that women face, especially those women in the workplace with ethnic backgrounds is that of prejudged, preconceived ideologies held by others in leadership/management. Women of ethnic backgrounds in the workplace are primarily found in factory and service work. Primarily today, Americans are very conscious of illegal aliens and border issues and therefore tend to prejudge and develop social attitudes towards these ethnic groups. This is referred to as racial profiling. This makes career advancement in the workplace for these women especially hard to achieve. Most ethnic women choose not to fight the uphill battle that this kind of discrimination presents and therefore they settle for the factory and service jobs previously mentioned. Arizona legislature recognized the rising potential for racial profiling and began to revise laws stating that “police may not consider race, color or national origin…except to the extent permitted by the United States or Arizona Constitution” (2010, para. 9). Racial profiling can be individually overcome, but honestly, some women do not see enough value in the rewards to pursue it.

Lori Latrice Martin addresses this same issue in her article concentrating mostly on African Americans when she stated that “ careful examinations of racial differences in the types of levels of asset ownership have painted a bleak picture of racial economic inequality in America” (2010, para. 2). Despite the awareness of gender inequality, there are still arguments about gender difference and assumptions that women and men are from different planets; women and men are still treated so differently in society. The workplace still remains an unequal playground that is polluted by persistent sex segregation, income inequality, sex discrimination, and sexual harassment. Women and men work because they want to, and because they have to. Employers should not judge women as being any less dependable than men because that is simply not true. The truth is that family structure has changed drastically over the years. Today the family responsibilities are now being shared by both the mothers and the fathers.

In order to compensate for these changes, some companies have introduced flex time, job sharing, parental leave, on-site child care, and telecommuting just to name a few. Employers should accommodate a woman’s needs and therefore expand the gender diversity of their company. They may just find that positive outcomes will emerge from such a move. There was a time where the balance of respect and roles never existed between a husband and wife, but today, they are redefining themselves, their relationships, and their family units to accommodate what works for them and not what society says should work. More importantly, women have successfully broken from the bondage of dependence on men. They no longer have to submit themselves to one main role in the family life solely as the mother. As for men, the need for dominancy has changed dramatically because for some men, they have been found to be the nurturing stay-at-home fathers for their family. As well, men and women have emerged to work together as a unit.

References

1. Crawshaw, C. (2010). Workplace diversity pays dividends; having a wide range of backgrounds helps with innovation. Leader Post, H, 1. Retrieved July 19, 2010, from ProQuest Direct database.
2. Dunleavey, M. P. (2007). A breadwinner rethinks gender roles. New York Times, C, 6. Retrieved July 19, 2010, from ProQuest Direct database.
3. Lauer, R. H. , & Lauer, J. C. (2006). Social problems and the quality of life (10th ed. ). Boston: McGraw-Hill. Sullum, J. (2010, Aug/Sept). Arrest everybody. Reason magazine, 8. Retrieved July 19, 2010, from ProQuest Direct database.
4. Martin, L. L. (2010, Fall). Non-married women and black ethnicity: an analysis of the likelihood of homeownership. Western journal of black studies, 325-336. Retrieved July 19, 2010, from ProQuest Direct database.

In Savage Inequalities, Jonathan Kozol describes the conditions of several of America’s public schools. Between 1988 and 1990, Kozol visited schools in approximately 30 neighborhoods and found that there was a wide disparity in the conditions between the schools in the poorest inner-city communities and schools in the wealthier suburban communities. How can there be such huge differences within the public school system of a country which claims to provide equal opportunity for all?

It becomes obvious to Kozol that many poor children begin their young lives with an education that is far inferior to that of the children who grow up in wealthier communities. They are not given an equal opportunity from the start. He writes, “Denial of ‘the means of competition’ is perhaps the single most consistent outcome of the education offered to poor children in the schools of our large cities . . . ” (p. 83). Although all children are required to attend school until age 16, there are major differences in schools and they appear to be drawn along lines of race and social class.

Kozol examines how the unequal funding of schools relates to social class divisions, institutional and environmental racism, isolation and alienation of students and staff within poor schools, the physical decay of buildings, and the health conditions of students. All of these contribute to a psychological disarray of the young people who recognize that the ruling class views them as expendable and not worth investing its money or resources. Kozol’s focus of this book is to examine urban school districts, which are severely segregated by race and class.

They are overwhelmingly nonwhite and very poor, which contrasts sharply with the wealthy overwhelmingly white suburban schools right next to them (p. 74). He limits his selections to poor inner-city schools rather than include examples of all poor schools because he feels that they best exhibit racial segregation and social class divisions. He notes that even when schools have a “diverse” student population, segregation occurs within the school through special education programs or vocational tracking.

Although Kozol does not directly address it, the center of the problems that affect these schools is a capitalist system that requires the reproduction of the divisions of labor (Bowles). Schools provide the training to meet this requirement through the tracking of students into the roles that they will fulfill in our economic system. The ruling class attempts to make sure that there are an appropriate number of people to fit these jobs. Capitalists (i. e. business owners) not only want an obedient workforce, but a surplus of workers at each level so that they can pay the lowest wage possible (Spring, p. 24). They will seek out and encourage programs that train people for such jobs. Who should be assigned each role? Kozol does point out that wealthy white people want to make sure their children get the “good” jobs and live in the “good” (less polluted) areas. They benefit from the divisions of labor and will use their influence to maintain government policies that ensure their positions.

When Kozol discussed funding inequities among school districts with a group of affluent students in Rye, New York, one student exhibited these beliefs when she said she had no reason to care about fixing the problems of school funding because she failed to see how it could benefit her (p. 126). She indeed recognized how the class divisions were to her advantage. Why would she want to change that? The policies that the ruling class creates to maintain their place on the social class ladder inherently lead to the continuation of the cycle of poverty, social class divisions, and environmental and institutional racism.

Kozol provides examples of this, which range from the location of nonwhite, poor people on and near toxic waste sites (p. 8-12), to blaming problems of the inner city on the people within that system (they are unable to govern themselves, their children aren’t worth the money it takes to educate them) (p. 9, 26, 75-76, 192-193), to the funding formula that allocates funds to public schools (54-56, 202, and throughout). It is this unequal funding of public schools that is Kozol’s main emphasis in Savage Inequalities.

Funding based upon property taxes and property values discriminates against lower social classes, and this unequal funding leads to inferior schools and creates a wide disparity between schools in the poorest and wealthiest communities. Isolation of students, staff, and the community is a direct result of the inequities in funding. People who have poor schooling are funneled into jobs which are poorly paid and so the people not only have less knowledge, but have less money and influence with which to change the system (p. 7). Because they don’t know how, nor have the tools necessary to break the cycle of poverty, they continue to reproduce the class divisions and schooling that supports it. This in turn allows their children to be continually tracked and fed into the lower skilled jobs and schooling, which is a necessary component of the capitalist system. Kozol vividly illustrates the deplorable conditions of the poorest schools. In contrast, he provides colorful descriptions of the wealthiest suburban schools that neighbor them.

He effectively demonstrates the racist conditions and social class discrimination that lead to the variations within the public school system as well as discusses the funding formula for America’s public schools. His writing is exaggerated, I am sure, in order to make his point. He had an abundance of information and had to be selective (as anyone would) and when choosing what to include, he used the extreme examples to make his points clear. He may not have included schools because they did not exemplify his point, which is that there is a huge discrepancy in the quality of public schools depending on where one lives.

Yet it still seems that he could have included more. What Kozol should have included was more information on his “research” methods. Perhaps this could be added as an appendix. How many schools did he visit in all? How many were elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools? How would he classify the schools he did visit? How many of the total would he say were very wealthy, awful, or a varying degree in between? Kozol provides descriptions of the worst of the worst, but his research only extends to a limited number of urban schools.

He asks if what he sees is atypical of inner city schools (p. 36). Has he visited enough schools to determine that? It is true that there are those schools out there and they should not be like that, but do they represent the majority of urban schools across the country? He is selective in choosing and describing the worst of the schools located in the inner city, yet he leaves out any mention of the relative conditions of the other schools in the city. He also fails to include any examples of conditions of poor white suburban and rural schools and schools not at the middle class level.

Perhaps Kozol could also include more on his views as to what the “minimal” requirements for a good school should be. What should all public schools have? He says that there should be more poor schools that resemble the better schools. Are the wealthy suburban schools examples of the minimum that “public schooling” should offer? Or shall they have somewhat less (not necessarily California) while poorer schools get a lot more? Are there minimum educational experiences that all students could expect in any public school?

If parents wanted more than was provided by the public schools, they could demand more (for all) or they could provide tutoring or a private education for their children. Kozol suggests equalized funding as a solution to the lack of quality in urban schools. Funding alone will not solve the schools. There needs to be changes in the greater society that would have to occur simultaneously for real improvements to occur. Besides, equal funding does not mean equal schools. Would policy makers really want equal funding?

If politicians really valued public education and believed in doing what would provide equal funding for ALL, plenty of money would “become available. ”   Perhaps my greatest problems with Savage Inequalities are that Kozol does not deeply examine why things got the way they have as they relate to the purposes of schooling as described by Joel Spring (p. 18-26), and Kozol is all talk, no action. While he was visiting these schools, did he attempt to organize the schools, teachers, parents, and students? He observed the schools and was able to highlight the inequities present, but did he do anything?

He had an ideal opportunity to initiate some organizing of those involved, yet the book does not suggest that he did much more than visit the schools and report back what he saw, heard, and felt. Since only part of the problem, albeit a large part, is how the schools are funded, one would need to look beyond the education system to find a solution which would really rectify the problems Kozol describes. Schools cannot truly be reformed without “reforming” the societal conditions that surround the schools.

The schools are the way they are for a purpose–to reproduce the social divisions of labor (Bowles) and to maintain the capitalist economy of our country. When discussing how to solve problems of unequal funding, Jezebel, an eleventh grade student at Woodrow Wilson School in Camden, New Jersey addresses segregation and says that even if funding were the same, schools will not be equal. A very insightful young lady, she recognizes the degree to which the ruling class will prevent a fair education system and desegregation from developing as she realistically suggests that “it would take a war to bring us together” (Kozol, p. 55). Short of that, it is unlikely that these problems will be solved through any reform effort. To begin to solve the problems, people need to collectively stand together and fight for the rights of all the children to have an equal start in life. That means people need to know what is going on and that they can do something to change it. Kozol was right about that when he suggested that people may be more willing to revise the system if they understood how it worked (107), but how do you get people to look beneath the veil? Fifty-five years ago, the United States Supreme Court ruled in the landmark Brown v.

Board of Education case that school segregation policies are unconstitutional. Yet despite the moral victory of the Brown decision, in the decades since 1954 we have failed to create educational equality in America. Despite countless initiatives, hundreds of billions of dollars invested in various school improvement efforts, and the passage of a federal law that mandates that no child be left behind, we continue to see gaps in educational opportunity that disproportionately impact the lives of low income communities and communities of color across the fifty states. How can this be?

In the wealthiest nation on earth, that has professed its commitment to eliminating these gaps for more than half a century, how can such glaring inequities persist? While we have gone to great lengths to experiment with education reform, we have done little to address the web of related social issues that together create the conditions necessary for educational success. We have spent our time and money focusing on things like toughening standards for students, making it harder to become a licensed teacher, and holding failing schools accountable for poor performance.

And while many of these reform efforts have had some generally positive impact on the quality of education our children receive, all of these reforms ignore the fact that no matter what we do in schools, students still live their lives in communities that reflect the systemic economic, racial and environmental inequalities that our society has yet to resolve. Like a patient with pneumonia who takes larger and larger doses of cough syrup and then wonders why they’re not getting better, we find ourselves treating primarily the symptoms of educational inequality rather than the root causes.

If we hope to change our educational fortune, our society will need a cure that actually attacks the problem where it exists. It is only through a structural analysis of education that we can understand how issues like housing, school funding systems, and employment interact to shape our children’s ability to succeed in school. Let’s start by looking at the issue of housing. There is perhaps no single greater factor in determining one’s educational experience than where you live.

Despite the moral victory of Brown, for the average low income black and Latino student in America today, schools are only marginally less segregated than they were in 1954 and are growing more segregated every year. 1  We have replaced the system of racial segregation with a system of residential segregation. Low-income blacks and Latinos are not explicitly forbidden from attending more affluent, majority-white schools because of their race, they are forbidden from attending because they are unable to secure housing in districts where affluent, high-functioning schools exist.

This system, first declared constitutional by the Supreme Court in the 1974 case Miliken v. Bradley, essentially means that middle class and wealthy white communities need only to prevent low income people and people of color from moving into their districts in order to maintain segregated schools. Even cities that have sought to voluntarily integrate schools, like Seattle and Louisville, have been thwarted by recent conservative Court rulings.   In actuality then, the great dream of integrated schools in America not only never fully materialized, what little progress had been made is being undone before our eyes. For many low income communities and communities of color, little has ever happened to disrupt what has for generations been a schooling experience defined by crumbling infrastructure, poor quality teaching, lack of resources for arts, music, athletics, and extracurricular activities, and high concentrations of poverty along with all of its destabilizing effects on the lives of children.

To fully understand the structural connections between educational opportunity and housing, first we must understand how schools receive funding. The primary source of funding for most school systems is property taxes. This means wealthy districts with high property values not only have more to spend on education, they can actually tax themselves at lower rates than their less affluent counterparts and still raise more money for schools.

Even within school districts with diverse populations, providing equal per pupil funding for schools that serve populations with dramatically different needs can result in schools that reinforce, rather than reduce, inequality. In New York City for example, where per pupil funding is constant3 in the public schools throughout the city, schools that serve students who come to school with a range of academic and social needs that are not being met at home are at a perpetual disadvantage when compared to schools that serve students from more affluent and less needy areas.

The Bronx, for example, when compared to the other boroughs of New York city is notable for being home to the neighborhoods with the city’s highest concentrations of poverty, adult incarceration, unemployment, and adults who themselves have not attained a high school diploma. 4  Given these social factors, it is a virtual certainty that, on average, students from the Bronx will come to school with greater need for academic, social and emotional support than their less challenged counterparts in wealthier areas of the city.  The Bronx also has the lowest rates of home ownership in New York City, making students especially likely to change residences and schools multiple times. 4  Studies have shown this kind of mobility to be a strong indicator of low performance. 5  It is no surprise then that the Bronx has the lowest rates of students performing at grade level on standardized tests in Math and English in New York City. 4 Because of modern school segregation, low-income students not only struggle with poverty related issues at home but generally receive an inferior education at school as well.

This combination creates a sense of hopelessness and the perception that the benefits of education cannot be realized among many in these communities. This leads many students to achieve below their potential and to disengage from school, leaving them with few opportunities for gainful employment or to secure housing in an area where better schools could serve their own children in the future. Together these structural forces create a self-reinforcing cycle of poverty (both economic and educational) that disproportionately impacts the lives of people of color in America.   The problems we face in closing gaps in educational opportunity and outcomes are not purely the result of inaction, or lack of effort, but rather the misunderstanding of the source of the problem. To succeed in eliminating educational inequality in this country we must begin to address the social and economic conditions in low income and minority communities. The prospect of this kind of systemic change can seem daunting, but here are three ways we can begin addressing the issue: Employment

Create strong incentives for businesses that locate long term, living wage, environmentally friendly employment opportunities in low income and minority communities. In cities like New York, low-income minorities often live in areas with few opportunities for gainful employment. 4  This compounds their geographic isolation, increases adult and teen unemployment, and forces parents to spend more time commuting to jobs in which they earn low wages.

The presence of stable, living wage earning jobs in low income communities not only improves the economic fortunes of the area, it also provides a critical mass of role models who can reinforce for students the value of educational achievement. Health Care One of the more disastrous byproducts of poverty is many parents’ inability to support their child’s development and achievement in school. With inadequate access to physical and mental health care, vision testing, and nutritional counseling, many parents in low income and minority communities are unable to offer their children the support they need to be prepared for success in school.

We would likely see greater gains in educational achievement among low income and minority students by investing in community support services like universal health care, school-based vision clinics, and mental health services, than we see from the billions we currently spend on No Child Left Behind reforms. 5   Housing Integration Simply put, we will not likely be able to achieve educational equality without a dismantling of the new class and race based separate-but-equal school system being reestablished in America.

The best way to ensure school integration is through housing integration. To achieve this we need rigorous enforcement of the long neglected 1968 Fair Housing Act, which contains provisions to ensure municipalities structure housing policy in ways that don’t reinforce racial segregation. In addition, we need a comprehensive, national strategy to ensure that as affluent whites move back into city centers, and blacks and Latinos are priced out of gentrifying areas and into the suburbs, we don’t simply shift populations in still segregated schools. 1

Krystal LopezPage 1 10/23/11 Hipics Vs. Hipics: Inter-racial Discrimination Many Americans believe that racial discrimination is no longer problematic in today’s society. Situations of interracial discrimination are often cited, but this does not to take into account that there is often conflict within the race as well. This misconception stems from the fact that diversity amongst the racial groups is often overlooked. Intra-racial discrimination is when a person or group of people of the same race use factors including, but not limited to, socioeconomic background, appearance, and kin color. Social or workplace hierarchies often develop under racial influence. Hostilities and tensions can reside in every race of minority, but it is highly apparent in the Hipic community. Intra-racial discrimination has far reaching effects on not only the individual minority, but on the race as a whole. The pressure of this type of discrimination affects how Hipics collaborate within a society of American superiority. For instance, people of Hipic descent who do not speak Spanish are often mistreated by people of their own, ethnic background. These people might be found ulturally lacking and treated differently from those that speak the language. The differences within a specific race are nothing more than that. They are purely genetic or cultural, and do not hold any value. It becomes a matter of cultural perception of what is expected rather than an actual cultural lack. Typically among Hipics and other ethnic minorities, discrimination is an increasing actuality witnessed even in the workplace. With the Hipic population growing rapidly, along with their increasing numbers of employment, it is becoming more apparent that inter and intra-racial iscrimination will target them as both victims and perpetrators. A hierarchy, or pecking order between races and within races, and biased management are some of prime examples of workplace inequalities. Situations like these occur because of the lack of people’s understanding of diversity. Page 2 Discrimination is also prevalent within a race as seen in how some believe that varying skin tones is cause for racial disparity. With a wide array of skin tones, Hipics believe they are easily targeted for ridicule and mistreatment. Even within their own race, some believe that lighter skin tones rovide them much more opportunities, and can help them to be more successful in a white dominated community. More opportunities were provided for those with lighter skin. Not only do Hipics in America face more discrimination in regards to their outer appearance, they also deal with the constant battle of being accused that they are not being ethnic enough, or being too “Americanized” and not keeping their culture and traditions alive. Part of the Hipic population across the Mexican border feel that American Hipics are “traitors” to their thnicity because they have denied themselves their rich, historical culture and thus abandoned their roots. Some Non-White Hipics discriminate against their own race, not because of any physical differences, but because of the similarities they share. Some identify with whites to such an extent, that they believe they are white themselves. Ultimately, being discriminated against can lead to the shameful denial of one’s self and their heritage, in hopes of becoming a more easily accepted member of a predominantly White America. Their wish is to assimilate into the culture and to “fit in”.

In the article, Raising the Status of the Cashier, Agius and Lee report on their findings while observing the interaction between Hipic cashiers born in another country and their white customers. The results of their three month long observations and their twenty interviews, was very surprising. La Canasta is an ethnic market catering to the Hipic population in the area. When it was originally proposed for that area, local communities tried to stop it from being put in. The employees are all Hipic and the cashiers are all Hipic females that were born in another country and do not speak Page 3

English. Due to the fact that this store caters to the Hipic population, it was interesting to learn that over a period of time, the white customer base actually jumped dramatically. What the researchers found even more interesting was the fact that the Hipic cashiers actually treated the white customers better than the Hipic ones. The cashiers thanked the white customers on an average three times compared to one on the Hipic customers. They spent more time and lingered on the sale with the white customer. The Hipic cashiers tended to be more friendly and smile with the white customers.

These findings went against the findings of previous research under McCormick and Kinloch (1986). This research indicated that it was more about the racial situation between whites and Hipics rather than the race of the cashier. This was not the case at La Canasta. It appeared that the cashiers went the extra mile for their white guests. Even though, it was impossible to verbally communicate, the cashiers would joke with the white customers more than the Hipic ones. When asked why they went to this specific store, the white guests indicated that they liked being the only hite person in the store and receiving personalized attention. When the cashiers were asked about the diverse background visiting the store, they all indicated that there was a fair percentage of white people. When asking the white customers, they all indicated that they were the only white people in the store even if there were other white people in the store at that very time. La Canasta shows that their can be discrimination within the same race. “The cashiers do not resent their White customers… and accept their place in the social hierarchy” (Agius & Lee, 214).

It appears that the cashiers felt that there was a growth in social status by helping the white customers. Thus, consciously or subconsciously, they treated the white customers better than their own nationality. The cashiers believe that “their presence alone raises their status” (Agius & Lee, 215). They are not just cashiers, but cashiers that serve white customers. Page 4 Discrimination has been around for thousands of years. It seeps into all societies and often changes rational men to irrational. It is not just between two races; it knows no bounds or restrictions.

Within a culture, there can be discrimination. It can be based upon the slight shade in a skin tone, to the perception that one’s race may elevate social status. It covers all facets of a culture from customs to speaking the language. Diversity within the Hipic culture provides many outlets for discrimination of all kinds. It is just as destructive intra-racially as it is inter-racially. Works Cited Jody A. Agius and Jennifer Lee, “Raising the Status of the Cashier: Latina-White Interactions in an Ethnic Market,” 18/10/201: 27 pages, Springer