Chapter 3: Discrimination

Question 1

Discrimination

Answer 1

The denial of opportunities and equal rights to individuals and groups because of prejudice or other arbitrary reasons.

Question 2

Relative Deprivation

Answer 2

The conscious experience of a negative discrepancy between legitimate expectation and present actualities

Example: Although their (immigrants’) standards have improved, the immigrants still perceive that they are deprived in relation to other groups

Question 3

Absolute Deprivation

Answer 3

Implies a fixed standard based on a minimum level of subsistence, often determined by the government

Question 3

Karl Marx

Answer 3

Marz’s assertion explains why the groups or individuals who are most vocal and best organized against discrimination are not necessarily in the worst economic and social situation

Question 4

Hate Crimes

Answer 4

When offenders choose a victim because of some characteristic, such as race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or disability.

Question 5

The Hate Crime Statistics Act

Answer 5

Created a national mandate to identify such crimes.

Question 6

Watchdog Organization

Answer 6

1. Anti-Defamation League
2. National Institute Against
3. Prejudice and Violence
4. Southern Poverty Law Center
5. National Gay and Lesbian Task Force

Question 7

Why Do Hate Crimes Carry Harsher Penalties?

Answer 7

A hate or bias crime toward a minority is intended to carry a message well beyond the individual victim.

Question 8

Mitchell v. Wisconsin

Answer 8

Recognized that greater harm might be done by hate-motivated crimes.

Question 9

Institutional (or Systemic) Discrimination

Answer 9

The denial of opportunities and equal rights to individuals and groups that results from the normal operations of a society

Question 10

Civil Rights Activist Stokely Carmichael and Political Scientist Charles Hamilton

Answer 10

Credited for introducing this concept.

Question 11

How can Discrimination be widespread and unconscious at the same time?

Answer 11

1. Standards for assessing credit risks work against people of color.
2. IQ testing favors white middle-class children.
3. The criminal justice system is dominated by white police officers, judges, and, often, juries.
4. Hiring practices often require several years’ experience at jobs only recently opened to members of subordinate groups.
5. Many jobs automatically eliminate people with felony records or past drug offenses, a practice that disproportionately reduces employment opportunities for people of color.

Question 12

Voting rights

Answer 12

1. State laws that bar citizens with past felony convictions from voting
2. Laws that require an ID to vote

Question 13

Income

Answer 13

Refers to salaries, wages, and other money received over a specific period of time

Question 14

Wealth

Answer 14

A more inclusive term that encompasses all of a person’s material assets, including land and other types of property.

Question 15

Eliminating Discrimination

Answer 15

Two main agents of social change work to reduce discrimination: (1) voluntary associations organized to solve racial and ethic problems, and (2) the federal government, including the courts.

Question 16

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 led to the establishment of:

Answer 16

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), which has the power to investigate complaints against employers and to recommend action to the Department of Justice.

Question 17

Redlining

Answer 17

The pattern of discrimination against people trying to buy homes in minority and racially changing neighborhoods.

Question 18

Environmental Justice

Answer 18

Efforts to ensure that hazardous substances are controlled so that all communities receive protection, regardless of race or socioeconomic circumstances.

Question 19

Affirmative Action

Answer 19

The positive effort to recruit subordinate-group members, including women, for jobs, promotions, and educational opportunities

Question 20

Reverse Discrimination

Answer 20

Actions that cause better-qualified white men to be passed over for a woman or a minority man.

Question 21

The Glass Ceiling

Answer 21

The barrier that blocks the promotion of qualified workers because of gender or minority group membership.

Question 22

Reasons why the glass ceiling exists:

Answer 22

1. One black or one woman vice president is regarded as enough
2. Decision makers may be concerned that their customers will not trust them if they have too many people of color in top management.
3. Or they may worry about a talented woman’s ability to handle the duties of family and work successfully.

Question 23

Glass ceiling barriers

Answer 23

1. Lack of management commitment to establishing systems, policies, and practices for achieving workplace diversity and upward mobility
2. Pay inequities for work of equal comparable value
3. Gender, race, and ethnicity-based stereotyping and harassment
4. Unfair recruitment practices
5. Lack of family-friendly workplace policies
6. “Parent-track” policies that discourage parental leave
7. Linked opportunities for advancement, entitled to decision-making positions.

Question 24

Glass Walls

Answer 24

A barrier to moving laterally in a business to a position that is more likely to lead to upward mobility

Question 25

Glass Escalator

Answer 25

The male advantage experienced in occupations dominated by women