Sociology Of Race Term Paper Example

According to studies conducted on the wage gap between different races in the United States, there are disparities that make one race occupy most jobs than the rest. There are significant differences seen through the process of job application and employment. Whereas it is believed that the labor markets is supposed to be blind to the race of their employees or possible employers, it is proven beyond doubt that race plays a significant role in decision making when it comes to employment and recruitment. A person’s ethnicity plays a very big role in determining their career as well as the job placement. Sociologists seek to understand the role played by ethnicity and race in determining the choices people make about their careers and how that determines the kinds of jobs that people belonging to different races would rather do. Work force disparities in the American labor market are as real today, like they were several years ago in as much as admitting this fact is not easy, and this ca b blamed on government policies, the history of the country and racial prejudice.
Most people would want to work and that is why they go to school and work very hard, they get good grades and get out into the labor market. But they do not automatically get their dream jobs because they have the right papers, but mainly because they belong to a certain ethnicity, and that the employers are not comfortable working with them. The ethnicities that pose a major difference are blacks and whites. According to Deirdre A. Royster, after interviewing men of black and white ethnic groups, she realized that even after going to the same schools and taking the same vocational courses, the white men stand high chances of securing employment and easily for that matter, than their black counterparts (Royster 2003, 78). Such is a good example of how ethnicity has given whites better opportunities than blacks and other races as well, and it is no wonder that whites dominate the labor market more than any other race in the United States.
The racial disparity in the U. S. labor market is wide and it workforce segregation is the biggest when compared to other countries in the world. There are those who think that the racial disparities are as a result of the careers that each groups take and their employability in terms of whether they are on- off or would rather they are permanently employed. Even when the opposite is true, ethnicity pushes people to lower cadre jobs not because they not well trained and prepared for the jobs but because society determines their place in the labor market (Vallas, Finlay, & Wharton 2009, 17). It is possible to find highly educated black men and women jobless or doing odd jobs because they cannot be taken in by any employer, not because they are not qualified, but because of their ethnicity.
More often employers rank their employees on merit, but do not award them jobs or fail to do so because they qualify but because they belong to either privileged or underprivileged ethnicities. Education and skills are thought to play a role in job placement but most employers fail to honor that because of the perceived inequalities of the disadvantaged groups. Of course much of the blame is put on the sluggishness of black progress and their incapability based on what society thinks (Waldinger & Litcher 2003, 45), but the mismatch is as a result of stereotyping and the way employers and society perceives different ethnicities. African Americans may have been less skilled in the past, but they have moved from there to a more skilled populace, something that employers choose to ignore (Bean & Gillian 2003, 102). The United States labor market, has structures that discriminate against minority groups especially immigrants, and nothing much has been done to change that perspective, in as much as the minority groups are trying to live up to the standards that have been set (Waldinger & Litcher 2003, 54).
Much of the disparities are blamed of the levels of education of the minority groups especially blacks. Whereas many of them are moving from their prescribed group for lack of education and incompetence, much has not changed in the recent past. Worse still, there is a wide disparity between the wages of whites and the minority groups. In as much as gains have been made towards equality in the labor force, there is enough prove that the minority groups can occupy the same jobs as their white counterparts but then, members of the minority groups will receive less salaries as compared to what whites are paid. The reason this is the case is, that there are underlying factors that precede the entry of both into the labor market and society has designed at like that. The back stops at discrimination evident in the access to jobs by either group, and because employees do not choose their salaries, the employer will give employees what they deem fit for each one of them. The influence of first impressions and absence of reliable referees may play a role in the whole issue of discrimination, and the resultant effect from decisions made on racial grounds will eventually influence decisions made by employers.Future Prognosis
The disparities witnessed in the U. S. labor market are likely to change in the near future. More people from the minority group are seeking higher education as a tool that is meant to empower them get a better standing in the labor force. Going by past experiences and how the situation has changed over time, there is a likelihood that the country will get to a situation where employees will look beyond the race of their possible employees and consider the order of merit. Before the civil rights movement, many blacks and other minority groups lacked substantial education that could enable them secure jobs, but the period after that saw a number embrace education, and were able to secure employment. The 21st century has seen great progress on matters education and empowerment that puts blacks and other minority groups at a better position to secure good jobs.
When holding all factors constant, it is undeniable that even with education discrimination in the labor force still exists. But these trends are expected to change because society’s perception on discrimination is changing. It is going to be a very long journey because the past has seen similar challenges that have not been adequately addressed. Race and ethnicity still remains a critical issue that determines people’s lives in the United States, but then there is a ray of optimism, that all that will change in the future. It can never be assumed that the labor market is color blind; there are evident disparities work positions, pay levels as well as job opportunities. But that is expected to change if employers dealt away with biases, making of decisions informally and systemic racial and ethnic inequalities.
ReferencesBean, F. D. & Gillian, S. (2003). America’s Newcomers and the Dynamics of Diversity. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.Royster, D. A. (2003). Race and the Invisible Hand: How White Networks Exclude Black Men from Blue-collar Jobs. Oakland: University of California Press.Vallas, S. P., Finlay, W., & Wharton, A. S. (2009). The sociology of work: Structures and inequalities. New York: Oxford University Press.Waldinger, R. & Litcher, M. I. (2003). How the Other Half Works: Immigration and the Social Organization of Labor. Oakland: University of California Press.