...The History of Inequality: Institutions and Citizenship Throughout history, inequalities have permeated many different societies to different extents. The exclusion of certain groups over the course of centuries and policies that favor the elite more often than not have allowed inequality to persist. Many different policies and factors result in these inequalities, so it can be difficult to narrow down which have the greatest impact, but by examining the history of different programs meant to reduce or perpetuate inequalities, it is clear that the issue of inequalities is one of policy rather than a natural state. According to de Barros, “The inequality caused by unequal opportunities is viewed by most people as fundamentally unfair” (de Barros, 27). This suggests the difference between inequality of opportunity and inequality of outcome. If there seems to be a positive correlation between these two forms of inequality, then we can claim there is something unfair about the system inherently. Furthermore, “some inequality may be tolerated, like inequality caused by differences in effort and talent, particularly when attempts to reduce it could interfere with other ethical objectives, such as privacy and individual freedom. Equality of opportunity is desirable, equality of outcomes (earnings, income, wealth) not necessarily” (de Barros, 27). For example, if a child who, because of chance and circumstance, grows up in a poor family and lacks access to a decent education as...
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...Jeanette Cepin Power & Inequality In The Workplace Term: Summer 2015 Professor: Bonnie Johnson Final Reflection Essay Wouldn’t it be great if we lived in a society that with hard work, dedication, and discipline we can accomplish the so called “American Dream”? Some have been able to accomplish this dream, but many still struggle and continue to work non stop in order to reach a dream that is almost impossible to achieve. The United States of America, “the land of the free and opportunities”, hasn’t really been the land of the free, with opportunities for all. During my 7 week summer course, I was able to have a better and deep understanding of how the United States is structured to benefit a certain group while denying others opportunities. How those in power acquired their power, work to maintain it through inequality, how these inequalities can a lot of times be correlated, and how can we work together to make a difference. In order to understand inequality we must first identify what are the factors that contribute in creating it. Social class, which can define one’s position in society, contributes to a form of conflict. Social class divisions have always played a prominent role in America. These class distinctions inflict unfair on all Americans. The idea of social class has been a central concept in determining the opportunities a person is capable of having. People from different socioeconomic backgrounds live different lifestyles as well...
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...Nickisher White December 4, 2013 Professor Fischer Gender Inequality in a Global Perspective What is Gender Inequality? Like others, a social problem that is widespread in American society is Gender inequality. It is a problem that has had a negative impact on American society. Gender inequality can be found in many sub-systems of America. It is important to understand what gender inequality is in order to identify and correct the problem. Two sub-systems that gender inequality can be found are in the family and in the workplace. Gender inequality, in my definition, is the unequal and biased treatment between the two sexes. I strongly believe that the unequal treatment of women is something that should have stayed in original times. We are in the present now and we are far more advanced than we ever were and yet we are old school in our thinking of how men and women should be treated. I can strongly identify with gender inequality because many of my closest friends have faced it or still face it. Materialist theories define gender inequality as a result of how men and women are tied to the economic structure of society. They believe that women’s role as a mother and wife are devalued by society and deny access to highly respected public opportunities. Gender stratification refers to the ranking of the sexes in such a way that women are unequal in power, resources, prestige, or worth. Materialist theories indicate that gender stratification is increased where women’s...
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...concept of how men and women are expected to act and behave. In American culture males are most likely to be observed as masculine role with strength and females to a way where they are associated with passivity, subordination and nurturing. In today’s modern society is easy to outfit an infant boy with blue and a girl with pink. It is amazing to realize that is not always been this way, but until the beginnings of the 20th century, “boys were more associates with pink and girls with blue illustrating how socially constructed these associations rally are”. Some major agents of gender socialization...
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...The Women’s Rights Movement: Women’s Suffrage Jamuel Breeze Old Dominion University Abstract Women’s history is still being reclaimed. Women played critical roles in the twentieth-century American life. Women were workers, artists, parents, and women offered in many forms energies, insights, and strengths in periods of crisis and prosperity. Our forefathers wrote that all men were created equal, but growing up as a females has never been easy. When children are young there are not many differences between boys and girls, but as life continues things change. When young girls grow to become women they face discrimination, from the onset, as opposed to their male counterparts. This discrimination comes from society, and can even come from within their household from parents, siblings, and other family members. Women were viewed as only suitable for domestic works and were not given opportunities for advancement nor knowledge of other skills and trades. This essay will cover the route that women took in order to become equal; The Women’s Rights Movement, but more specifically focus on Women’s Suffrage. The Women’s Rights Movement Women’s rights movements are primarily concerned with making the political, social, and economic status of women equal to that of men while establishing legislative safeguards against discrimination on the basis of sex. The Women’s Right Movement began in 1848 with the first women’s rights convention being held in Seneca Falls, New York. Elizabeth...
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...injustices and inequalities. In actuality, these customs do not exist neither naturally nor neutrally, but have been embedded in the political, economic, and social organization of societies over time. Structural violence is not limited to local histories or countries classified as third world, but also...
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...“I am a successful woman. I am well educated and also a good mother. I fulfill all criteria for a good woman, but my man and my nation do not like successful women like me.” (Health-genderviolence.org) This is a gender discrimination case based on Lubia’s real life story and she is also a victim of gender-based violence. From the very beginning, women played an important role in man society. Likewise, they have dedicated themselves to the development of man’s history but they are still suffering from gender inequality. People today have a mindset of gender equality and there are also many breakthroughs of feminist movement. However, women are still treated unequally in many places today in terms of social, education and economy. In today’s...
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...unpatriotic and disrespectful of the American flag” (Illing 2018) However, this was not what brought Kaepernick to news headlines. The controversy exploded when President Donald Trump responded to the situation by saying, “Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners ... say, ‘Get that son of a bitch off the field right now. He’s fired!’ (Graham 2017). Overall the NFL protests demonstrate how the snowballing turmoil of a country can make its way into...
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...The Impact of Slavery on American Society DeVry University Abstract The subject of slavery has been the focus of a variety of controversies, debates, and protests throughout American history. Besides the Civil War era there has not been another time in history when slavery has been such a volatile topic as it has become in the last half decade. Even in modern day America the subject of slavery evokes significant discussions and has influenced legislative decisions such as the recent removal of the Confederate flag from South Carolina’s State House grounds and other government and public locations throughout the South. This paper seeks to review the literature attaching the history of slavery and present examples of the ethnic and cultural contributions that aided in the growth and diversity of America. It will also introduce examples of today’s societal issues including educational, economic, and social variances; the right to support cultural heritage; and the significant role history plays in influencing decisions made in America today. Introduction American history is filled with heinous acts that many would like to forget happened; slavery is no exception. Although it was a necessity of the times, slavery is undoubtedly one of the most volatile topics of discussion today; not just because of the inhuman and discriminatory treatment that was inflicted on an entire race, but also because of the perceived continued existence of some of those same...
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...Although Latin America has faced many social, political, and economic issues within the last three centuries, inequality remains one of the most important, historical, and omnipresent aspects of the region’s culture. As Europeans took over Latin America during the time of colonization, they implemented many elitist social structures that have held strong and are evident today (Harris). Income inequality is the most visible and greatest disparity that the region faces; yet inequality between gender, ethnicities, and education remain strong and significant problems with a necessity for improvement. Inequality of wealth and disparity of power and influence are Latin American’s greatest curses and are at the root of many of the developmental, social, criminal, and political problems that continue to plague the region (De Ferranti). Since inequality has pervaded into every feature of Latin American society, it is important to measure inequality accurately in order to obstruct the causes of the discrimination and prevent new ones from beginning. The Gini Coefficient is an effective way that people indicate the inequality of a country by measuring a frequency distribution of income or wealth. Using the "Gini Index" of inequality in the distribution of income and consumption, the researchers found that Latin America and the Caribbean, from the 1970s through the 1990s, measured nearly 10 points more unequal than Asia, 17.5 points more unequal than the 30 countries in the Organization...
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...Caprice Golden Professor History August 14th, 2024. The Role of Racism in the Failure of Reconstruction The Reconstruction era in United States of America history, spanning roughly from 1865 to 1877, remains a crucial and controversial period marked by efforts to rebuild a nation that was torn apart by civil war and to redefine the social and political landscape of the South of the United States of America. Central to the debate surrounding Reconstruction is the question of whether racism played a decisive role in its perceived failure. Reconstruction emerged in the aftermath of the Civil War with ambitious goals in mind: to integrate millions of formerly enslaved African Americans into American society as full citizens, to rebuild the Southern economy that was devastated by...
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...The Case Jane Central State University ATH-111 This case study focuses on Rosewood, Florida; a once flourishing African American colony annihilated in the course of a weeklong occurrences of violence in early January of 1923. This study will show the effects of segregation in the United States, which continued after laws were passed, but unfortunately ignored by people who wanted to continue to have power, social control, and inequality over an indigenous group of human being living within their community. Rosewood is a true, however historically-stifled chain of events that took place in small blooming town in Rosewood, Florida. Rosewood industry was cedar wood and mills, and a railroad station that transported products, communal relations between the towns of Rosewood and Sumner were one of tolerance. The African American community were aware of the inequality that was afforded to them, but also made every effort to build a culture of stability, and building a new cultural identity of freedom within an almost self-sufficient predominately African American community in spite of the power structure of its white neighbors and systematic racism (Dye, 1997). With the accusation of violence against a white women the mob viewed this act a direct threat to their social structure and the legacy. Social hierarchy played a major role in the mobs attitude, the violence was almost immediate, and within six days the accusation caused ominous consequences that affected...
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...Concept Map Essay - Gender Inequality Gender inequality has been present in the United States throughout the history of its existence. There are many forms of gender inequality such as occupational segregation or the gender pay gap. Over many years the persistence of these issue has been slightly alleviated. However, even with this alleviation gender inequality is constantly a pressing issue that can be found under the microscope of many sociologists and social science professionals. As well as being a formal and academic issue, many individuals from all walks of life argue over civil rights daily to mitigate these social problems. Equality is something that should be freely allowed to people of all social and cultural groups, gender included. However gender inequality manages to impose on even this most simple ideal. The idea to be unfair or unjust to the opposite sex is not one that we are born with, but the gender roles we are raised within might have influence on our later actions toward one gender or another. From a young age we are given, taught, shown, or influenced to act with a feminine or masculine behavior. Little girls are present with dolls and china sets, while little boys are given trucks and toy soldiers. When entered into the world of athletics young girls are often entered into ballet or gymnastics, on the other hand boys start playing baseball or basketball. It is now becoming more common to see just as many girls racing down soccer fields as boys...
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...American Culture Teresa Grass BUS 610: Organizational Behavior Instructor: Gary Gentry Date: September 2, 2013 The United States of America as we know of to be home of the brave and land of the free. The United States of America landscape is quiet luxurious and seldom defined as purple mountain majesties. Among all the celebrated images these are just a few linked to the culture of the U.S. The culture of a country is conducted in many techniques starting with migration and recruitment. The culture of American came from a group of dissimilar individuals consisting of much political encouragement, morals, and many religions. The U.S. is customarily known as culture of Western that is made of an majority of Anglo which considered a Western culture that consists of an Anglo majority which overcomes economically and politically. The culture of the British is really the foundation of the U.S. with encouragement from Asian Americans, African Americans, indigenous individuals and Europe. Because of the majority of the culture of the U.S. there are many integrated yet exclusive subcultures that occur within America (Frost, n.d.). The espoused values of the U.S. the level that is linked with the culture of Americans consist of the variety of individuals that share espoused values that are openly including philosophies, goals, and strategies. The principles and conduct are communicated with characteristic of their specific kind of age, moral, and social groups. The...
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...having ample opportunity to interact with people from the other group. Discrimination in Northern Ireland has not been helped by the fact that most children either go to protestant or catholic schools and many grow up in neighborhoods that are largely divided along the same lines. The erecting of walls (either real or psychological) between communities is a perfect breeding ground for discrimination. It is the responsibility of society to reject a "them and us" mentality wherever it is encountered and to ensure that young people get the opportunity to mix with people who have different backgrounds or characteristics. Irresponsible behavior by politicians, the media and other influential groups Most people get their views on a wide range of social and political topics from consuming media (TV, radio, Internet, newspapers, etc.) and listening to the views of politicians, religious leaders and other people who have some form of...
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