“Getting a Job in the Inner City” by Katherine Newman
The article “Getting a Job in the Inner City” by Katherine Newman is about how people from the inner cities motivate themselves in participating low wage jobs. The suburban places like the Long Island usually have low supply of labors so some of the job seekers benefit from a relatively high wage. However, the labor supplies in the inner urban places are very high that most of the jobs ended up with low wage. The main objective of the author is the article is to evaluate and analyze the main factors that make the people in the inner city stay in their work which is below the minimum wage. It was done by interviewing different types of people who work below minimum wage and analyzing their experiences. In most of the cases, desperation and personal motivation are the factors that could maintain them from participating with these low paying jobs. What I don’t understand in the article is that is about the theories or models that could explain the trend of the issue. The article only discusses some of the people’s experiences but it could not establish a generalization. It raised a question of what separates these people from the other people participating in a low wage jobs from other places.
Based from my experience, I could observe that the article is right about some factors that motivate the people from the inner cities in participating in low-wage jobs. I also wanted to participate in the low wage jobs since I do not expect myself to supply much for my basic needs. I only wanted to have extra money for my personal wants other than basic needs. The method that was done in the article did not discuss some of their assumptions. The author only presented the interviews and lack generalizations and concepts that govern the issue. However, the author was successful in interviewing different types of people which covers a wide range of samples. The factors that motivate the people interviewed are discussed but the assumptions of their conditions and situations are not presented.
“Is Job Discrimination Dead?” by Cedric Herring
According to the Cedric Herring, the author of the article “Is Job Discrimination Dead?” , most of the people often think that discrimination is lost and the society is now have an equal view between race. However, it was not the real case when the statistics were analyzed. There are still lots of complains about racial discrimination of the African Americans in their jobs. According to the social audit presented in the article, the percentages of whites which are more likely to be hired and promoted are higher than the African Americans. It only shows that racial discrimination in the corporate world is still happening although it is more sophisticated and not easily recognizable in the society. However, I did not understand in the article about the concept or theory that governs issue. The article raised a question about how the racial discrimination in the modern times differs from what the African Americans experienced in the past.
In my experience, I also believed that the society is shifting towards color blindness. It means the society now views race as equal and could not be a factor for hiring in jobs and other aspects that could differentiate people from their race. The statistics that is presented in the article could be true but the society could not easily recognize the racism in jobs. However, I agree to the argument of the author that the modern racial discrimination is more sophisticated. In analyzing the evidences that supports the author’s arguments, it could easily be shown through statistics and facts. However, it lacks theories and concepts that could explain or justify the facts that are presented in the article. The method done by the author is simple and the proposed solution has a major basis.
References:
Herring, C. (2002). Is job discrimination dead?. Contexts. 13-18
Newman, K. (1999). Getting a job in the inner cities. Russel Sage Foundation. New York Random House. 62-70.
