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Thursday, September 13, 2012

African-Americans And The Work Force essay

Abstract

African-Americans continue to fall below average in funds and top-level management positions, although quite a few African-Americans have the same, or better, qualifications as their Caucasian counterparts. As minority groups continue to fall below this sort of averages in economic status, during the United States, the question of fault presents itself. Exactly where does the fault lay for these kinds of inadequacies? Are there contributing factors that stand out more than others? This paper will discuss the views and research findings of several authoritative figures over a subjects of minority inequality in employment, workplace discrimination, and also the impact, if any, that illegal immigration has on the work popularity of African-Americans. Affirmative Action and its future will also be discussed.

Introduction

The purpose of this paper is to examine the causes why African-Americans fall behind in money and task status. The contributing causes will be addressed, such as work discrimination, minority inequality, as well as the outcomes that illegal immigration may have on a economic reputation of African-Americans. In addition, affirmative action are going to be discussed.

In discussing minority inequality and discrimination in employment, the following queries will likely be answered:

• Do minority inequality and discrimination affect the wages of African-Americans?
• Does minority inequality affect the managerial positions, or lack thereof, of African-Americans?
• Does discrimination affect African-American’s efforts to advance in job positions?
• Does task discrimination affect the wages African-Americans earn?

In discussing the role illegal immigration plays over a economic reputation of African-Americans, the following queries is going to be answered:

• Does illegal immigration affect the unemployed numbers of African-Americans?
• How does illegal immigration affect the wages of African-Americans?

In discussing affirmative action, here questions will probably be answered:

• What's affirmative action?
• How does affirmative action apply towards African-American’s funds and employment status?
• What is the future of affirmative action? 

For the year of 1999, the average yearly cash of African-Americans was $27,910, compared for the average yearly money of Caucasians at $44,366. The poverty level of African People in america from the year 2000 was averaged at 19.1 percent compared to 6.9 percent for Caucasians (MSN Encarta, 2007). These two figures are a mere hint on the difference in rates among African-Americans and their Caucasian counterparts.

There is an critical reality that is related on the economic plight of African-Americans: with all of the info obtainable relating to unemployment, low wages, and the like, African-Americans are not becoming included from the work recovery missions inside United States. In accordance with the internet site ChartingtheEconomy.com (2004), workplace discrimination is really a major contributing thing to African-American exclusion from employment recovery efforts. Additionally, task tenure, net worth and income, and geographic movement of jobs are also contributing factors.

According towards Bureau of Labor Statistics (2004), African-Americans have substantially much less tenure with modern-day employers, at an average of about four years or less, although Caucasians had an average of ten many years or more. This largely affects African-Americans after a company downsizes; African-Americans are the first to become laid-off. The same is genuine when organizations hire employees (ChartingtheEconomy.com, 2004).

The web worth and money rates of African-Americans are also a lot lower than Caucasians. African-Americans have few resources offered from the event of unemployment. “The higher your world wide web worth, the far better your resources as soon as unemployed, along with a greater income typically means higher unemployment checks plus a much better severance package” (ChartingtheEconomy.com, 2004).

Cedric Herring (1995) discusses five theories that suggest African-American inequality in economic situations: culture deficiency, human capital theory, labor market segmentation, spatial/skill mismatch, and structural discrimination. Every theory is discussed below.

Cultural Deficiency Theory

Herring states that African-Americans keep low economic statuses as a result of a deficiency to African-Americans being a group. Some, just like Banfield (1970), Auletta (1982), and Murray (1984) theorize how the “attitudes and outlooks of persons from areas of high poverty and unemployment acts as impediments to their successful movement to the globe of work” (Herring, 1995). Herring states that, according to this theory, African-Americans do not accept appropriate values for career and lack the work habits that are needed to your position. This theory also stipulates that African-Americans tend to remain unemployed as a result of the potential to rely on specific services as a approaches of income, without the need of physically working. Murray (1984) submits social welfare as an illustration to this theory. When social welfare is obtainable towards the unemployed African-Americans, they have a tendency to remain jobless.

Human Capital Theory

This theory was introduced by economists so that you can explain labor market and wage inequalities. This theory, as introduced by this kind of persons as Jacob Mincer (1962) and Gary Becker (1964), suggests that the productivity of an employee produces inequality inside the workplace. According to this theory, “inequality occurs because (1) some individuals have more talent than others, (2) are willing to invest much more in their human capital, (3) pick to jobs in work that pay higher monetary incomes, and (4)some employers have a taste for discrimination” (Herring, 1995).
Labor Market Segmentation Theory

According to Guy Dalto (1987) this theory suggests that the labor industry is segemented into two sectors: the primary and the secondary sectors. Under this theory, the main sector is “composed of jobs that tend being component of jobs that have a tendency being component of the labor industry governance structure that provides job security, upward mobility, and higher money and earnings” (Herring, 1995). These jobs are a lot more most likely to be full-time positions, and allow employees the opportunity to attain far more skills which effects in higher wages. The secondary sector jobs are comprised of additional part-time positions with lower wages. The persons which are utilized in this sector typically cannot buy positions from the primary sector, for that reason generating the secondary sector primarily inhabited by African-Americans.

Spatial/Skill Match Theory

According to Paul Blackley (1990) this theory emphasizes that spatial distribution of work positions are the key to African-American underemployment. The general concept of this theory is that the result in of the economic positions of African-Americans is due to changes in needed skills and changes within the geographic locations of this kind of career opportunities (Herring, 1995).

Structural Discrimination

Herring theorizes that structural discrimination occurs as soon as “African-Americans and other unempowered groups are disproportionately denied entry to very good jobs and other social rewards by social forces and policies that systematically operate to their detriment and have negative final results on their life chances. Herring believes that even race-neutral policies can be discriminatory in nature. “Examples of this sort of seemingly race-neutral practices would include seniority rules, employer’s plant place decisions, policy makers’ public transit decisions, funding of public education, economic recessions, and immigration and trade policies” (Herring, 1995).

Minority Inequality and Discrimination in Employment

Within the discussion of employment, inequality and discrimination are usually a single within the same, as they are directly related to each other. Minority inequality is caused by discrimination. Discrimination reasons inequality within the workplace. As such, the information discussed here with deal with discrimination.

Despite the several civil rights laws that were passed, as well as the fine-tuning of those laws, discrimination still exists inside workplace. African-Americans are still facing discrimination in practically all aspects of employment. “Evidence of discrimination is observed at practically each stage of the task cycle, such as selection, placement, compensation, promotion, and discipline and discharge” (Roehling, 1999). African-Americans face job denials as a result of race, segregation into lower wage positions, and racial harassment (Civilrights.org, 2007).
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