SOCIOLOGY SOCIAL JUSTICE AND DIVERSITY

Sociology Social Justice and Diversity

Sociology Social Justice and Diversity

Part 1: Inequality among Minority ethnic groups in the U.K

Blacks and other ethnic minorities in the UK have historically faced discrimination and prejudice. Pay inequality in the UK remains high, with "significant differences" between men and women and among ethnic minority groups, a government-commissioned report says today. A National Equality Panel, set up by ministers in 2008 to investigate inequalities, found that "deep seated" differences remained between social groups, even though some of the widest gaps had narrowed in the last decade, such as the difference between men's and women's wages(Adler, 2000).

Differences in wealth affected the ability to buy houses in the catchment areas of the best schools and to help children on to the housing ladder, said the report. Huge differences were also identified in the wealth of older people, with one in 10 households aged 55 to 64 having houses, pension rights and other money worth less than pounds 28,000, while another one in 10 had more than pounds 1.3m. According to the research women up to the age of 44 had better qualifications than men, but women's hourly pay rate was 21% less than men's. Noticeable discrimination against people from ethnic minorities was shown, with those from almost every minority group less likely to be in paid work than white British men and women (Alcock, 9199).

In addition to this, African Americans face other forms of discrimination such as redlining, or the practice of refusing to do business with or charging higher rates to certain customers because of their “high risk” potential based on racial situations. For example, many African Americans will pay more for car insurance if they happen to live in a low-income area versus a White person who lives in the suburbs. These unfair credit and lending practices still plague us today. In a sense this provides African Americans with a form of double jeopardy. We are penalized because of our skin color and we are also penalized for the location we live in. African American women are another group that has become a victim of double jeopardy.

In the workplace, African Americans often fall victim to institutional discrimination. This discrimination may not be overt but goes on behind the scenes. When job postings (especially the better ones) go unannounced and interviewers cannot look beyond their own personal biases, we should call these practices into question. Glass ceilings occur on a regular basis. Blacks tend to make disproportionately less money than their White counterparts. So they find them in a constant state of struggle for equal opportunities. They often, are denied advancement opportunities that are given to other ethnic groups. Lawsuits have come about that show that Blacks are sometimes allowed leadership opportunities in some departments versus others (Adler, 2000). A study conducted by 'The Bolton Drug Action Team' showed that there are a number of issues about staff competence and confidence in collecting ethnic monitoring data and the subsequent ...