Search

The ethnographic study of tourism in Latin America and the Caribbean offers the opportunity to examine the ways that racial ideologies perpetuate social inequality, debunking the myth of racial democracy in countries such as Brazil. In the case of Brogodo, in Bahia, Brazil, structural inequality and racial ideology limit the equal participation of Brazilians of African descent in the local ecotourism industry. This article draws on evidence from ethnographic research to investigate the relationship of structural inequality, racial ideology, and cultural and symbolic capital. In the ecotourism industry, employer discourses emphasizing the limits of local community members' cultural capital conceal their preference for employees exhibiting both the habitus and phenotypic traits associated with whiteness, reflecting broader social and economic practices that discriminate against African-descendent Brazilians. The ability to naturalize habitus and disguise racial ideology behind discussions of education and qualifications reflects employers' and members of the dominant classes' symbolic power. O estudo etnografico do turismo na America Latina e o Caribe oferece aos estudiosos a oportunidade de examinar as formas pelas quais as ideologias raciais perpetuam a desigualdade social, suplantando o mito da democracia racial em paises como o Brasil. No caso de Brogodo, Bahia, Brasil, a desigualdade estrutural e a ideologia racial limitam a capacidade de brasileiros afrodescendentes participar em condicoes igualitarias na industria local de ecoturismo. Neste artigo, recorremos a evidencias da pesquisa etnografica para investigar a relacao entre desigualdade estrutural, ideologia racial e capital cultural e simbolico. Argumentamos que na industria do ecoturismo, os discursos dos empregadores enfatizando a limitacao do capital cultural dos membros da comunidade local ocultam sua preferencia por funcionarios que exibem tanto o habitus quanto os tracos fenotipicos associados a branquitude, refletindo praticas sociais e economicas mais amplas que discriminam os brasileiros descendentes de africanos. Afirmamos que a capacidade de naturalizar habitus e disfarcar a ideologia racial por tras de discussoes sobre educacao e qualificacoes e um reflexo do poder simbolico dos empregadores e dos membros das classes dominantes., In the misty dawn hours, local African-descendent guides sat on the steps of Brogodo's open-air bus station waiting for one of the daily buses from Salvador de Bahia to arrive. [...]

Thank you to Transnational Law & Contemporary Problems and the Journal of Gender, Race & Justice for inviting me, and a special thanks to Professor Wing for hosting us today. [...]

The demographic composition of intercollegiate athletic departments mirror general societal trends, in that racial minorities are clustered in certain positions. The purpose of this study was to examine why racial minorities are over-represented in academic support positions, such as life skill coordinators and academic supervisors/advisors, but under-represented in other administrative staff and senior level positions. Through the use of a case study methodology, this study investigated this occurrence in one Division I athletic department. Seven senior level administrators and seven academic advisors participated in the study. Findings of the study revealed that both supply and demand forces were in effect. Racial minorities' entry into academic support positions was found to be a result of them having a higher preference for these positions and a result of structural limitations on their options, such as the occurrence of discrimination, outcomes of hiring practices, and lack of career role models and social networks. Keywords Occupational segregation * Intercollegiate athletics * Discrimination

Abstract The construction sector has the largest number of unorganised labourers in India next only to agricultural sector. Women form half the workforce and by choice or by design they [...]

While previous research has focused on measuring employment discrimination based on sexual orientation and establishing the need for laws that protect against such discrimination, very little research has evaluated the effectiveness of current nondiscrimination laws. This exploratory research considers the addition of sexual orientation to New York State's Human Rights Law as it relates to employment. In an effort to better understand the implementation and overall effectiveness of the law, attorneys in New York who specialize in employment law were surveyed. The survey results, based on the responses of 34 attorneys, provide insights into how well the law has initially protected individuals from discrimination, and how well it has provided redress for claimants of employment discrimination. The initial results of the research suggest that employees mostly seek redress for a hostile work environment, that potential claimants are concerned with confidentiality and retaliation, and that more training for employees is needed to combat employment discrimination based on sexual orientation. KEYWORDS New York State, employment discrimination, sexual orientation, nondiscrimination policies

We develop empirical estimates of the return to sexual orientation in the labor market and utilize the 2004 Current Population Survey to determine if lesbians and gay men are treated differently from their heterosexual counterparts. We find strong evidence consistent with the hypothesis of discriminatory treatment against gay men, and this evidence differs substantially by occupation. On the other hand, we find no evidence of discrimination against lesbians. These findings are consistent with priors based on economic theory of the standard taste for discrimination and statistical discrimination models. The results for both men and women are consistent across wage and total compensation regressions. Keywords Wage discrimination * Sex orientation * Gay

Deficits theory posits that women scientists have not yet achieved parity with men scientists because of structural aspects of the scientific environment that provide them with fewer opportunities and more obstacles than men. The current study of 208 faculty women scientists tested this theory by examining the effect of personal negative experiences and perceptions of the workplace climate on job satisfaction, felt influence, and productivity. Hierarchical multiple regression results indicated that women scientists experiencing more sexual harassment and gender discrimination reported poorer job outcomes. Additionally, perceptions of a generally positive, nonsexist climate, as well as effective leadership, were related to positive job outcomes after controlling for harassment and discrimination. We discuss implications for the retention and career success of women in academic science.

Using organizational justice as a guiding framework, the authors studied perceptions of affirmative action programs by presumed beneficiaries. Three conceptual issues were addressed: (a) the content of different affirmative action plans; (b) the 3-way interaction among distributive, procedural, and interactional justice; and (c) the distinction between outcome favorability and distributive justice. These ideas were tested with a sample of Black engineering students who responded to 1 of 6 plans. Participants distinguished among the various plans, with some policies being viewed as more fair than others. In addition, a 3-way interaction among the 3 types of organizational justice was observed. Specifically, the 2-way interaction between distributive and interactional fairness was only significant when procedural justice was low. Implications for organizational justice and for the design of affirmative action programs are discussed. Keywords: affirmative action, organizational justice, diversity

A study on the influence of the introduction of the National Minimum Wage, on the gender pay gap, across regions in the United Kingdom, is presented.

This study investigated the impact of race and gender on access to typical employee benefits for individuals with disabilities. The authors analyzed data on the proportion of employers offering specific benefits. The study focused on two areas: (a) Males with disabilities were compared with females with disabilities and males and females with disabilities were compared with workers in the general population, (b) Caucasians with disabilities were compared with Non-Caucasians with disabilities and Caucasians and Non-Caucasians with disabilities were compared with workers in the general population. The results show that there were (a) no differences between males and females with disabilities, (b) minimal differences between Caucasians and Non-Caucasians with disabilities, and (c) significant differences between individuals with disabilities and workers in the general population. Implications for rehabilitation counselors is discussed., Individuals with disabilities should expect employee benefits similar to those expected by all employees (Gilbride, Thomas, & Stensrud, 1998; Hart Research Associates, 2001; Rehabilitation Act Amendments, 1998; Shoob, 2001). The [...]

Results from analyses of a large Swedish longitudinal data set suggest that men who work in typically female occupations have substantially better internal promotion chances than have equally qualified women in such occupations. This finding is compatible with the idea that a so-called glass escalator takes underrepresented men on an upwardly mobile internal career path at a speed that their female colleagues can hardly enjoy. Furthermore, the results indicate that men and women have equal internal career chances in male-dominated occupations. Hence, the common assumption that obstacles to women's internal career growth are especially severe in male-dominated fields of work obtains no support. Keywords: careers; glass ceilings; occupational sex segregation; promotions

This paper uses a middle-range feminist theory by Reskin and Roos (1987) to examine how the sexualization of work relations, along with formal practices governing promotion at a large coal mine in central Appalachia, has led to job-level sex segregation underground. Analyses of qualitative data from nonparticipant observation, in-depth interviews with 10 coal mining women, and company documents reveal that sexualization represents men's power to stigmatize women as inferior workers and to maintain the stereotypes for assigning work to women. Formal practices, particularly training, seniority, and posting and bidding procedures, legitimize the process of matching women workers with gender-typed jobs. Coal mining women's resistance is reflected in their awareness of how men's stereotypes are used and in their continual individual efforts to prove their competence as coal miners.

Gender differences in employee recruitment were investigated using data and statistical models. A dataset based on a survey of the recruiting practices of Dutch firms was utilized to test whether female candidates have lower chances of being hired than their male counterparts. Results showed that male and female applicants have almost the same probability of being hired regardless of the type of job vacancy. The probability of hiring a candidate of either sex is determined by the gender composition of the pool of applicants.

The relevance of the early work of Rosabeth Kanter and her study of the lives of US women managers is explored from today's perspective. While women managers have made considerable progress since the work was published in 1977, various attitudinal and cultural barriers still remain. The nature of such barriers and their variability depending upon the number of women within the organization are presented and discussed.

This study investigated differences between men and women in their use of sexual stereotypes when evaluating recent hirees. Participants (33 Euro-American undergraduate women and 45 Euro-American undergraduate men) read a job announcement for Personnel Analyst and a completed employment application form (with a picture of the applicant attached). They then completed a questionnaire, indicating their perceptions of the applicant's competence, qualifications, and status on other job-related characteristics. The information on the application form was the same except for the race and sex of the hiree. Three of the five expected interactions were statistically significant. It appears that men may underestimate the qualifications of women and rate them lower than men on other job-related characteristics.

Beliefs about gender discrimination in the work force were investigated among a sample of American (n = 201) and Australian (n = 177) business students. Significant differences between genders in beliefs about the existence of gender discrimination were indicated, with women being more likely than men to affirm its existence, particularly in the area of salary discrimination. In addition, there were differences between genders and between countries in assessment of the factors that might lead to lower participation of women in management and in the assessment of avenues of advancement for women., The lesser participation of women in management positions, especially at the upper levels of management, is well documented in all the industrialized countries of the world (Alpern, 1993; Butterfield, 1994; [...]

Older people who seek employment are likely to be discriminated against by employers. Ways to lessen the effects of age discrimination in applying for jobs include the strategies of deemphasizing age while emphasizing the advantages of experience and maturity and emphasizing the applicant's youthful qualities. However, collective public and private efforts are needed to totally eliminate age discrimination which rests on the assumption that younger workers perform better than older ones.

We investigate wage differentials between ethnic groups in Israel, proposing a new methodology and an illustration based on the latest Israeli census. By using separate wage equations for the various occupations, our methodology allows us to decompose the wage differential into three components: one reflecting human capital differences; one reflecting wage discrimination; and a third indicating occupational segregation. We find that 70 percent of the wage gap is due to segregation, 26 percent to wage discrimination and only 4 percent to human capital differences. Evidence is also found for the existence of duality in the Israeli labor market., I. INTRODUCTION Wage differentials and occupational segregation have been intensively studied and well documented in the economic literature. Empirical analyses have demonstrated differences by gender and ethnicity and theoretical studies [...]

As the debate over affirmative action heats up, a concerted effort will be made to convince women that they are victims of job discrimination. Currently, a constitutional initiative in California, [...]

Around the turn of the century, many states enacted laws restricting the hours women could work. Yet little research has been done on the impact of these laws on women's employment. Traditional feminist political theories suggest that these laws disadvantaged women relative to men by reducing employers' willingness to hire women workers. Traditional class theories, focusing on employers' class interests, suggest that these laws were weakly implemented and enforced, allowing employers continued access to low-wage female labor. A third view, a feminist-class view, suggests that the effects of hours laws reflected both employers' class interests and their gendered interests and that ultimately the impact of the laws advantaged women workers. Quantitative analyses show that hours laws in certain circumstances increased women's share of employment but did not affect patterns of occupational sex segregation. The article concludes that both traditional class and feminist-class theories are supported.

Women receive better returns than men in authority in the competitive sector of the economy, all else being equal (including gender-type of occupation and firm size). This finding supports a hypothesis drawn from organizations theory and Becker (1971) (1957). In addition, this analysis shows that while differences in education and hours worked per week do help explain the gender difference in authority in the workplace, gender differences in domestic responsibilities have little direct effect on authority attainment.

Statistical data from the 1968-1988 March for Current Population Surveys show that labor market segmentation and disparity by race, different regional employment opportunities and occupational placement have resulted in the racial gap in unemployment. This racial gap was highest in college-educational men during 1968-1970 and 1983-1988. The high gap between educated men of different races is likely the result of a drop-off in hiring among black-dominated industries and the fact that educated black men have not been seen as part of the growth industries over this period.

In 1989, the Navy began tracking the sexual harassment rates among its officer and enlisted personnel by administering the Navy Equal Opportunity Sexual Harassment (NEOSH) Survey on a biennial basis. While previews reports on the results of the NEOSH Survey have discussed the occurrence, frequency, and effects of sexual harassment in the Navy [A. L. Culbertson, P. Rosenfeld, and C. E. Newell (1993) Sexual Harassment in the Active-Duty Navy: Findings from the Navy-Wide Survey (TR-94-2), San Diego, CA: Navy Personnel Research and Development Center], this study examines whether victims of sexual harassment differ in their perceptions of equal opportunity (EO) climate from those who have not been harassed. Data from the 1991 NEOSH Survey were realized. Sixty-seven percent of the women officers were White, 25% African-American, and 18% Hispanic. Of the women enlisted, 52% were White, 31% African-American, and 13% Hispanic. The results indicated that women who were sexually harassed perceived that there was less EO in the Navy than women who had not been harassed. This was true for both officer and enlisted personnel. In addition, specific organizational consequences of sexual harassment were identified.

The impact of physical appearance on wages is analyzed. The study focused on the possible discrimination against ugly people in the labor market, a reduced-form combination of attitudes that contribute to such bias and worker distribution among jobs that lead to discrimination. It is shown that plain people earn less than the average looker, who then receives less compensation compared to good-looking employees.

Race/ethnic discrimination in hiring can be measured under controlled conditions using matched pairs of minority and nonminority research assistants posing as applicants for the same job. In 149 in-person job applications in the Washington, D.C., labor market, African American applicants were treated less favorably than equally qualified nonminorities more than one-fifth of the time. Employer behavior during these interactions suggest that, within continued public and private efforts against discrimination, particular attention should be accorded to the cognitive underpinnings of bias., Three decades after the civil rights revolution of the 1960s, policy consensus remains elusive concerning equal employment opportunities for racial and ethnic minorities. Sharp debate continues on anti-discrimination laws and [...]

Affirmative action and preferential treatment are group policies. Their desired effects will be on groups of people rather than on individuals. The two main purposes for such race conscious practice are to compensate for past harm and to promote greater equality of opportunity, and arguments in the debate about such practice have often marshalled ideas about group rights to compensation and equality of opportunity. Most rights-talk on the other hand is about individual rights and the idea of group rights sits uneasily with individual liberalism. This article discusses the nature of group rights and whether they can easily co-exist with individual rights in the pursuit of compensation and equality of opportunity.

Historically, self-employment was perceived as a mechanism whereby immigrants could circumvent discriminatory practices in wage labor. More recent research by Borjas in the United States, however, suggests that this view is incorrect. Immigrants, particularly members of visible minorities, are disadvantaged in both the wage labor and the self-employed markets. This pattern has not been replicated in Canada, however; after controlling for several socioeconomic attributes, it is found that foreign-born, self-employed visible minority-group members are not at a disadvantage in relation to the majority population. Foreign-born visible minority group members earn less, however, in the wage labor force. In contrast, it was found that there is no statistically significant difference between native-born visible minority group members and others in the wage labor force, and that native-born, self-employed minority-group members may earn more than others in that market segment.

A study revealed that Asian, Asian American and Pacific Island faculty hardly experience any discrimination, and have mentors mostly at graduate or post-doctoral stages. The 1988 study compiled responses of 71 Asian faculty who were mostly married, male assistant professors, and 307 White respondents. Asian subjects specialized mainly in the engineering, math and physical sciences fields. They found the advice, support and feedback aspects of mentoring useful, but were unhappy with the exploitation aspects. Only some Asian faculty had experienced ethnic harassment.

The progress made by White women in education and employment is not necessarily at the expense of Black men. White women have done better in higher education because Black males have lower high school graduation rates. The percentage of White women in the labor force rose from 41.8% in 1973 to 48.5% in 1983 as compared to a fall in percentage of Black men from 67.5% to 56.3% for the same period. White women face stagnation at promotional stages. Black males face job access problems due to poor basic education, low socio-economic status and racial prejudice.

Two investigations examined how occupational stereotypes relate to sex discrimination in the prestige and salaries accorded to 'men's' and 'women's' jobs, and in hiring decisions. A distinction was drawn between the sex type of jobs (the ratio of male to female jobholders) and the gender type of jobs (the personality traits associated with jobholders). A descriptive study revealed that although the sex type and gender type of most jobs studied were consistent, significant exceptions occurred. Furthermore, most jobs that were 'sex neutral' with respect to sex ratios were found to be highly gender typed. Regression analyses revealed that the 'masculinity' of a job was a strong predictor of occupational salary and prestige, whereas feminine traits made a much smaller contribution to prestige and were unrelated to salary. The percentage of women jobholders was negatively related to occupational salary, but unrelated to prestige. Finally, a survey of career planning and placement professionals--who rated the suitability of job applicants whose sex and gender type were varied--demonstrated that two processes underlie sex discrimination in hiring decisions: gender-typed personality trait matching and sex matching for applicants to jobs.