Effects of Social Inequalities in the Current Society

Social inequalities refer to the existence of biases concerning resource allocation among different communities. At times, some are likely to be favored based on their status, on the other hand, other means can as well apply thus bringing course. Occasionally, it describes people from different ethnicities, gender, social classes, age and even race. Social prejudice and discrimination in these areas have existed for such a long time. It has, therefore, created differences in the society and unity is just a dream that has never come true. The so called, American dream never has and will not be achieved anytime soon as long as these challenges still exist. In America, discrimination against race, ethnicity and social class is quite high. Gender inequality also still exists in some developing countries where LGBT never welcomed. The women empowerment also have not picked up globally for, in some cultures, the women are not perceived as leaders. Employment discrimination is also quite high whereby those with social networks are likely to get job opportunities as the nobodies are left hanging. Those from well-off families also tends have higher chances of getting employment following corruption that exist almost in all nations worldwide. 

This project will provide several articles that address the social inequalities faced in the society today. The discussion is based on how racism, gender, ethnicity, social class and education affect the success of our community. The articles will be majorly on prejudice and discrimination issues in the current communities. The article also focuses on how these issues can be solved so as to better our society. One can notice the inclusion of things like racism, poverty, employment, sexuality, education and even gender. Emphasis is thus focused on these issues following our contemporary society, and they profoundly affect it. Social inequalities concerning all these matters have toned our society apart, and unity can never materialize.

Journal Article 1

Race, racism and discrimination

While following the study done on schooling, performance and achievements, the negative cultural beliefs and racism can adversely affect academic achievements of the youths from minority communities. The fact that academic achievement relates with the whites, most of the youths do get demoralized and disengaged from academics for they feel that their effort will not be fruitful at all. These students also tend to discourage their peers from succeeding in academics or behaving like whites. They thus try to isolate themselves as much as they can from the white community what encourages racism. The study also showed that most minority students who are already engaged in academics still perform poorly as compared to the white students. The truth is, negative stereotypes about a given group can impair the academic functioning of that particular group. Those students who had already disengaged from academics may not be affected by the stereotypes. The most affected are the youths who are deeply committed to academics and are motivated towards achievements. From the article, it’s clear that ethnic and racial identity stereotypes are the leading causes of academic disengagement among the minority youths. Even those determined to achieve academics are demoralizes following the beliefs that exist regarding their race or ethnicity. It makes them hate anything that may bring them close to the white community. 

Race, racism, and discrimination also occur in workplaces, labor markets and even in organizations. In several studies, researchers have documented how the minority communities disadvantaged in the current labor markets. Most employers choose the kind of positions to place the minority groups. Some of them claim that black people cannot be given front office jobs for they will scare people away. Discrimination is quite high in these places for the minority groups are usually subjected to low paid jobs like cleaning, cooking and taking care of the old and the babies. The front office jobs, as well as well-paid ones, are usually given to the white people. In the current workplaces, several employers often use stereotypical view on the black. They describe the blacks to have weaker hard and soft skills as compared to the white employees. Most of them do admit their use of discriminatory recruiting and screening process while hiring staff. Most employers, therefore, do hire the black workers at lower rates than the whites regardless of their education levels. Most black women also do report cases of double jeopardy frequently. With the current increase in the degree of knowledge, most people do get job opportunity depending on their social status background.

http://www.scholar.harvard.edu/files/bobo/files/2003_race_racism_and_discrimination_with_cybelle_fox_social_psycholgy_quarterly.pdfJournal

J ournal Article 2

LGBT Work Place Discrimination

Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) refers to a bill that usually prevents employment discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity except for the religious institutions and small businesses. It ensures that there is no discrimination from the employer against their employees. ENDA has existed since 1970 tough gender identity clause was added in 2009. 

Following the recent survey regarding lesbians, gay, bisexual and transgender group, discrimination at the workplace was found to be one of the significant issues within the LGBT community. 

These people face a lot of challenges at their workplaces owing to both their colleagues and employers looking down upon them. As a result, they are never treated like the rest of the society now that some see them as a curse to the society. Most people rarely want to socialize with them as they view them as a bad influence. Following the research; 57% of the participant's suggested that employment rights should be the top priority for them because they are just like any other human being the only difference is their way of life and thus, deserve equal treatment at workplaces like other employees that do not belong to their group.

The transgender group faces discrimination and right legal issues. Their problems arise when it comes to marriage, employment as well as housing in society. Transgender groups are also human just like others created by God, and none of them wish to be that way. Discriminating against them stigmatize them making them feel isolated . They, however, have a right to lead a normal life and shouldn't be denied the legal rights. Other than the transgender groups, other LGBT groups also face discrimination at work, and very few of them get employment opportunities in most companies.

According to the report, 21% of them claim to have received unfair treatment from their employers due to their sexual orientation. It may not be a significant percentage though the fact remains that these people still receive discrimination. Such acts intimidate these people thus prevent them from coming clear in their social lives. Most of them may not reveal this since they are not sure on how their colleagues and bosses will view them. The experiences of these LGBT community groups vary following unfair treatment that they receive at their workplaces. 

The LGBT population seems to earn lower family income as compared to the rest of the people in the US. 39% of them usually make less income as compared to the 28% of the US general population. Though they claim that it so because most of these people are younger that the public and they possibly live in the family household, not all may agree to this. Their low income earning may also result from their gender identity something that should not be the case. Just like the rest, they have their responsibilities, and thus, ought to be given their rightful share.

Other than discrimination at workplaces, LGBT they have not received total acceptance from the society. 39% of the general public says the gays and lesbians have not been fully accepted into the society while 53% of the LGBT community say the same thing. From the research results, the highest number of LGBT members feels that they are neglected in the society, and that makes the feel out of place. Even though the rate of acceptance for this population has increased compared to some ten years ago, they still feel unwelcomed by some part of the society. Some groups like bisexual men and transgender feel less accepted as compared to other groups of the LGBT community. The community should realize that these are just human like them and hence treat them with the respect they deserve.

http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2013/11/04/as-congress-considers-action-again-21-of-lgbt-adults-say-they-faced-workplace-discrimination/

Newspaper article 1

How American Schools are Making Inequality Worse 

Students’ poverty has profoundly affected their learning. Several studies have it that most students from poverty stricken backgrounds in the United States can hardly perform better as compared to the well-off students. The reason behind this is that poverty hinders less fortunate students from learning. Many believe that not knowing that opportunities to learn are relevant to both the poor and rich students. In Americans schools, segregation between the poor and the affluent students varies in terms of content coverage.

The following research showed that most affluent students seem to receive a quality education as compared to the poor students . When asked whether they have been introduced to some mathematical contents like algebra and geometry leave alone solving them, the answers from the poor students was quite disappointing. In these schools, wealthier students are exposed to quality mathematics contents as the poor children lag behind with weaker ones. From this, one can easily conclude that poor performance by the less fortunate student is not as a result of family background but due to the less opportunity given to them in these schools. The existing education system seems to worsen social inequalities instead of solving it .

In public education, all the children have a right to education regardless of their social class or race, but the schools portray the opposite. Segregation has extended into the schools and the children from low-income families can hardly get a quality education. They are usually subjected to weaker syllabuses as the wealthier students receive the best. Inequality in student learning, as well as learning opportunities, is quite high within schools. Students may belong to the same grade in a given school though the less fortunate students usually receive weak mathematical content as the richer students exposed to higher quality materials. Earlier research had found that inequality across the classroom is rampant in US schools at a rate of 40%. Following the investigation, the students from well-off families had high chances of attending advanced math classes compared to the poor students. 

Routing of poor students into weaker instruction classes is something that exists in most schools in America and other parts of the world. According to unequal OTL of poor and the wealthy students, the students from the same school in the same grade usually receive different content following the family social status. It usually kills the dream of some bright children that come from low-income families. Never are they given a chance to prove their worth at all cost. Being poor do not mean that one is foolish. These children never chose to belong to the low-income families, they found themselves there. They should not be excluded from the others, and the schools should treat them equally. This practice in schools will never solve social inequality but make more intense than it is. Inequality can only end when tackled from its root. It is important to not only focus on the failing schools but also on the issues that lead to their failure or poor performance. That way they will be able to upgrade the schools as well as improving their performance.

https://theconversation.com/how-american-schools-are-making-inequality-worse-49270

Newspaper article 2

Rising Poverty and Social Inequality in America

Most of the working class people are aware of the increasing inequality in wealth. This article has exhaustively explained how the poverty rate as well social inequalities rise in America. Since 1980, the affluent population has been taking larger and larger portions and the trend has continued up to date. During the same period, the hourly wages kept on declining by roughly 7% what increases the gap between the wealthy and the have-nots. That has also contributed to the growing poverty rate among the minority groups in America. The rich become richer while the rest become poorer each and every day thus raising an alarm. All these are harmful to the economic status of the nation following the poverty rate, and it also enhances social inequality rates nationwide. 

Many factors have contributed to this trend that is never ending. Several well-paying jobs have migrated overseas leaving the Americans with no jobs. Most of the good-paying jobs have been replaced by technology what has made most Americans become jobless especially the minority groups. Most unions across the country have shown the increased willingness to accept these changes what contributes to the growing inequality rates. Their commitment to giving up all the hard-won gains has led to the decline in membership within these unions. Since no one is ready to join the unions and pay fees just concessions, most people decided to withdraw from the unions. The tremendous decline of these unions clearly shows the loss of a powerful tool that can be used in defending the working class group. Being members of these unions, the workers used to gain much from them, unlike today that everything has changed. The workers have turned into their investments and they no longer consider the interest of the employees in any way. 

Apart from the above issues, the government has also contributed to the growing rate of social inequalities heavily. The change in tax rate is believed to be the primary cause of this growth for it has left most people poor. In as much as they have jobs, they earn a small amount of money that cannot sustain their families. Most people are forced to leave in poverty due to the low-income earnings what accelerates the rate poverty. The long chains of policy changes in America have contributed to unending economic struggles that the working class and middle-class have experienced since 1970. These changes of policy heavily favored the wealthy as they oppressed the less fortunate groups. The corporate and financial sectors decided to manipulate the government policies in a well-organized and sophisticated manner that favors them and those who were already wealthy. The middle class and low-income earners were left to strive to death on their own. The government action favored the rich in that they allowed them to accumulate the increasing economic benefits. Both federal and state government was responsible for the increased gap between the poor and the rich hence, should consider changing the policies regarding the tax codes to reverse this trend. They should consider giving everyone regardless of their social status equal chances of accruing wealth. It is their duty to reduce inequality instead of increasing it. By granting the wealthy to accumulate a large quantity of property, they have taken this advantage to lobby politicians to allow them redistribute wealth from the poor and working class group. As their wealth accrues, their tax rates reduce. The working class poor people on the other hand experiences declined income and increased tax rates. These activities have contributed to the high incidence of poverty in America that affects mostly the minority groups making them voiceless.

http://www.globalresearch.ca/rising-poverty-and-social-inequality-in-america/32201

Newspaper article 3

The Supreme Court Rights a Racist Wrong

An 18year old black man from Georgia was convicted and sentenced to death for killing a 79-year-old white woman in 1987. This conviction was proved invalid on Monday after the court confirms that prosecutors struck all the black jurors during this trial. The actions of the prosecutors violated the victim’s constitutional rights and therefore the case sent back to Georgia court. The young man being black, prosecutors took advantage of the rampant racism in America and decided to withdraw all the blacks from the trial. 

The prosecutors, in this case, had notes on that fully explain how to discriminate while selecting the jury. They did this by highlighting the name of all black prospective jurors on a list indicated ‘B’ and in another list, they were ranked against one another. The letter B list apparently referred to blacks what shows how racism is high in America.

Racism has affected unity and harmony in society today whereby the blacks feel un-welcomed among the white people. They usually miss significant opportunities because of their color. It even hinders most of them from getting justice. Owing to this, even though the young man was innocent, he had no one to defend him for all the black jurors removed from the list. 

All the notes that were made by the prosecutors regarding the black jurors were kept in the prosecution files that took Mr. foster’s lawyers 20 years to retrieve them through a state record open law. Before the retrieval of these notes, the prosecutors lied about their motivations what Georgia court never agreed. Even after all the evidence were out, they continued to give their false explanations following their actions. During the prosecution, the chief just had no idea what the prosecutors did. According to him, he knew that the black jurors struck since they were young. The prosecutors used this as an excuse what did not work since the young white jurors never struck. Their actions vividly show racial discrimination that exists even at workplaces. The chief justice after realizing that the prosecution’s files heavily focused on racism, it was evident to him why the black prospective jurors were struck from the jury. The prosecutors’ actions worked against the, 1986 ruling on barring people from the board because of their races. The prosecutors, therefore, deserve to pay for their ill-mannered actions.

From this article, racism seems to be there since and it still continues to worsen. It has contributed to enmity between the whites and blacks in America. It all starts with our officials as it narrows down to the ordinary citizens. It has made even the school going children discriminate against one another following the information they get from their parents and guardians.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/25/opinion/the-supreme-court-rights-a-racist-wrong.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FRace%20and%20Ethnicity&_r=0

Newspaper article 4

Class Prejudice Resurgent

In the past, civil rights struggle was an apparent conflict between wrong and right just like getting into national life. Such no longer exist for we have moved from simplicity to ambiguity. Therefore, the debate on Ferguson has caused difficulties between sensible people. Several reactions from various people have been presented. Most people argue that civil right era cannot be compared to the contemporary behaviors since many things have changed. People have changed their perspectives on several things, and they tend to give second thoughts before making any conclusions. Many think that before commenting on anything they should look at both sides of the issue for we are all prone to mistake. There is no need of supporting our people even if they are wrong. People should always consider doing the right thing not to please people. Nature of racism has changed over time what makes the comparison very inappropriate. In the civil rights era, racism prejudice was based on genetic but in the current society, it is usually based on class. 

In the past centuries, there were those who lived in the respected communities as others lived in the slum areas. Those residing in the slums undermined following how they were described then. Most of the people from the untouchable places were the immigrants as the whites were living in high-density areas. The well off individuals during that time used to have disgust and fascinations for those residing in the slum areas. The division between the two classes still exists in the today’s society. We have those living in the respected meritocracy and those living in substandard areas. The gap continues to widen though in a different manner. Currently, people are viewed according to their class what leads to classism. Those from respected meritocracy regarded as those with grit; attend executive functions as those that are short of such virtues are seen as poor. Those from the poor community associated with violent, scary and even disorganized. It is a belief that may become true following poverty, childhood trauma one encountered.

In contemporary society, applies to both poor whites and poor blacks that belong to a particular demographic trait. Even though poverty associated with blacks in America, things seem different for even the poor white population has now been categorized with them following their social class. Currently, the civil right issues have become both economical and social problems as classism intertwines racism. It is because people have realized that not all blacks are poor neither are all whites are wealthy. Both races are found in these two social classes what should make people change their attitudes towards one another when it comes to racism. It high time the people should realize to focus on those projects that benefit both the races in America to alleviate this situation and even reduce the gap that exists between these two groups. If people can decide to improve social mobility of all the poor people regardless of their races, classism, prejudice genetic and social distance can all decline.

Http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/02/opinion/david-brooks-class-prejudice-resurgent.html?_r=0 .

Section 4

Film review

12 Years a Slave

The film describes the slavery of the blacks. The film is based on a true story about a black free man who used to live with his family in Saratoga, New York. Solomon Northup was offered a job of two men in traveling circus while playing his violin. Since he was in need of the cash, he accepted their offer. When they arrived in Washington D.C, they ensured that Solomon was totally drunk then the next thing, he found himself in a dark room tide with chains. He received thorough beatings from one furious racist when Solomon claimed to be a Freeman and taken to a particular boat where found other blacks who are also kidnapped then transported to Louisiana. Racism is evident when the furious racist beats up Solomon. The fact that all the people abducted were blacks also shows the existence of racism in this film. 

When they arrived at New Orleans, they get humiliated by the new slave trader making it clear to them that women are usually prospective buyers since they are used for sexual satisfaction. Following the comments of this slave trader concerning women, gender issue also comes out. Here they view women as sexual tools that are used to satisfy men. Ford, Patsy's boss confirms this for he continues sleeping with her what makes his wife more jealous. Women deserve no dignity according to Ford for he abuses his female slaves sexually.

The same racism that existed during slave trade era is still there. Just like the blacks were enslaved by the whites, the practices still exist though no in a direct way. They do this by discriminating against their color and origins. They grant the job opportunities at a low rate, and even the payment itself is usually miserable what makes the blacks live in poverty rates in America. https://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/jan/12/12-years-a-slave-review

Section 5

Conclusion

The project focused on social inequalities that the contemporary society faces. Social inequalities usually suppress the growth of the community. It affects almost all dimensions of lives. In most instances, children born in poverty-stricken families happens to suffer from diseases as compared to those born in wealthy homes. With social inequalities rampant in many nations around the world America being in the forefront, the MDGs cannot be achieved any time soon. For the world to achieve these set goals, they must eliminate all the social inequalities in the society today. Whatever happens today creates much danger to future. Instead making the community a better place than we found it, our actions, attitudes and behaviors seem to make it worst. America leads in all sectors even in social inequalities, yet most developing countries do look towards them. 

In the project, several social inequalities that come as a result of discrimination and prejudices have been tackled. It has focused on issues of sexuality, gender, racism, education and even employment. These are key areas of the social inequalities in the current society, and people must eliminate the factors that contribute to these challenges. Prejudice and discrimination are rampant in various sectors. At workplaces, racism and sexuality discrimination is widespread what make to die in poverty as the rich continue accruing their wealth. The gap exists between the poor and the rich continues to enlarge following the ridge between the less fortunate and the affluent groups. From the above articles, it's clear that most schools in America make social inequalities worse. Students from poor background are subject to weaker content as they expose wealthy students to advanced content. The poor are disadvantaged in all places be it at work or school. Stereotypes regarding some groups also increase social inequalities especially among the minority groups for they feel weird and intimidated while with other people like the whites. Some take advantage of low-income earners to accumulate wealth as the less fortunate continue to lose it. 

These analyses have enhanced my knowledge on the social inequalities and their adverse effects to the contemporary society. In the project, impacts of racial discrimination are tackled exhaustively. Issues like sexuality where the LGBT community face discrimination at the workplace and also experiences rejection in the society explained. Also discussed how the education of the poor students is profoundly affected by social inequalities. Class prejudice resurgent also tackled where we find that classism and racism intertwines. All these articles enlightened me in many ways. America being a superpower, they should lead by example. Racism discrimination should be a long forgotten story though it persists. Poverty levels increase each day. The wealthy people continue accumulating wealth through the poor and working class people. The oppression of the poor is still intact regardless of the changes the world brag of. Our current actions will have great impacts on the future society. The world should realize this and put the right measures in place for a better tomorrow. 

If societies don’t change their approach, inequality will still thrive thus only endangering the livelihoods of many yet can be avoided when appropriate measures put in place. Part of the reason why this keeps happening is as a result of selfishness. Most of the wealth is now controlled by a few individuals while a large percentage languish in poverty. Despite coming up with models to bridge the gap, this has not availed much as expected but can be corrected if appropriate measures are adopted. On the other hand, rather than just trying to ensure resources are well distributed, it is also good to empower people while hoping to bring about a difference. Without considering the need to educate them, this could at times inhibit change. There is thus need for participation, to encourage cooperation which could ultimately lead to cultural change. Whenever this is accomplished, the process is likely to be spearheaded from a personal level and eventually lead to tremendous change when all embrace change. At times, failure is occasioned by a wrong approach while trying to come up with solutions without dealing with the cause. In spite of this, education has been found to act as a major goal able to transform a given society when encouraged by all stakeholders. 

References

12 Years a Slave – review, Film. The Guardian [Video file].(n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/jan/12/12-years-a-slave-review

As Congress considers action again, 21% of LGBT adults say they faced workplace discrimination . Pew Research Center. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2013/11/04/as-congress-considers-action-again- 21-of-lgbt-adults-say-they-faced-workplace-discrimination/

Bobo, L. D., & Fox, C. (2003). Race, Racism, and Discrimination: Bridging Problems, Methods, and Theory in Social Psychological Research . Social Psychology Quarterly, 66(4), 319.doi:10.2307/1519832

How American schools are making inequality worse . (n.d.). Retrieved from https://theconversation.com/how-american-schools-are-making-inequality-worse-49270

Http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/02/opinion/david-brooks-class-prejudice-resurgent.html?_r=0.

LGBT Workers.(n.d.). The Oxford Handbook of Workplace Discrimination . doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199363643.013.13

Rising Poverty and Social Inequality in America. Global Research - Centre for Research on Globalization. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.globalresearch.ca/rising-poverty-and-social-inequality-in-america/32201

The Supreme Court Rights a Racist Wrong . The New York Times. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/25/opinion/the-supreme-court-rights-a-racist-wrong.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FRace%20and%20Ethnicity&_r=0