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Social Stratification:Class and Racial Inequality

Presented by: Nav ChohanMandeep Kaur

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AGENDA FOR PRESENTATION• Summary of Reading

• Main terms• Thesis• Main Arguments

• Analysis• Critique of Multiculturalism• Impact of Neo-Liberalism on Culture of Poverty• Legacy of Colonialism• Human Rights• Analysis of the Employment Equity Act

• Discussion• Interactive Component• Discussion Facilitation Question

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SUMMARY – Main Terms

• Racism: delineation of group boundaries on the basis of physical or genetic criteria (skin colour, eye shape, head shape, or gene frequencies) & development of ideas that involve evaluations of superiority or inferiority based on group differences, is a dysfunctional, irrational, feature of social relations in the country

• Systemic racism: institutionalized systems and practices that result in arbitrary and extensive exclusions for persons who, by reason of their group affiliation, are systematically denied a full opportunity to demonstrate their individual abilities.

• Institutional racism: normative prescriptions derived from racist ideas that subordinate groups and deny equal participation in societal institutions

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SUMMARY – Thesis

The main thesis of this reading is that racism is not simply a social or

economic problem of society, and that rather, it is inherently linked to

the capitalist system. In other words, racism and racial inequality

is necessary in the creation and perpetuation of capitalism

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SUMMARY – Argument 1 Racial Inequality within the labour force

• Canada’s immigration policy remained fairly racist up until the 1950s

• Canada could not look to Europeans and the British to fill need for skilled laborers

• Immigrants from other parts of the world were allowed into Canada, precisely to meet the needs of the labour market

• Visible minorities comprised the majority of the workforce involved in low-skill occupations

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SUMMARY – Argument 2Canada’s identity as a vertical mosaic

• a term used by sociologist John Porter to convey the concept that Canada is a mosaic of different ethnic, language, regional and religious groupings unequal in status and power.

• Vertical mosaic basically can be understood in relation to the difference treatment of different groups in Canada. (better incomes, education and health, etc)

• This term signifies that there are both advantaged and disadvantaged groups in Canada, which forms class relations and leads to racial inequalities.

• Porter's view was that in income, occupation and education, this supposedly beneficial policy worked to the advantage of some ethnic groups and to the disadvantage of others.

• "Mosaic" is often contrasted with the American concept of "melting pot." Many Canadians pointed with pride to the alternative Canadian policy of encouraging immigrants and their descendants to maintain important aspects of their ancestral cultures.

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SUMMARY – Argument 3Institutional Racism in Immigration Policies is

Influenced by Labour Market Demands

• how institutional racism plays out in the Canadian society, by looking at how labour market needs influence other areas of governance such as immigration

• i.e. certain groups are denied entry into Canada in order to prevent unemployment in the labour market which could cause a repeat of the end of the KWS

• Chinese workers in CPR

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ANALYSIS1. Critique of Multiculturalism

• Who is a Canadian?• “Most of the surveys show that between

10% and 20% of Canadians are extremely intolerant of racial minorities.” (pg. 172)

• Canada’s identity as a multicultural state is questionable.• Racist immigration policies • Vertical mosaic – why are some groups

doing better than others?

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ANALYSIS cont’d2. Culture of poverty• What is Culture of Poverty? – “Living in poverty

creates a culture that is characterized by a low level of organization, hostility to representatives of the larger society, and feelings of hopelessness, dependence, and inferiority.”

• “The failure of groups to assimilate into mainstream social relations”

• E.g. Urban ghettos as belonging to African-Americans

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ANALYSIS cont’d

How can culture of poverty be explained? • Need to look at problems created by

capitalist system, instead of just simply blaming an ethnic group for their condition of poverty

• Aboriginals in Canada & culture of poverty that is contained within their community

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ANALYSIS cont’d• Stats:

• Among First Nations children, 43 per cent lack basic dental care.

• Overcrowding among First Nations families is double the rate of that for all Canadian families.

• Mould contaminates almost half of all First Nations households.

• Almost half of aboriginal children under 15 years old residing in urban areas live with a single parent.

• Close to 100 First Nations communities must boil their water.

• Of all off-reserve aboriginal children, 40 per cent live in poverty.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2006/11/24/child-poverty.html

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ANALYSIS cont’d3. Neo-colonialism- Short Clip – “Racism as History”

http://youtube.com/watch?v=d0nOQUji-WU

- Shows us the earlier form of colonialism- How fundamentals of colonialism are replicated

today in a capitalist society- Shows us how racism emerged and how its still

played out today in a similar manner- E.g. Minorities, blacks, people of colour, still

occupy the majority of lower paying jobs, and the number of coloured people in management and top positions within companies, is not representative of their sheer numbers.

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ANALYSIS cont’d

4. Human Rights- Continuation of neo-colonialism through rise of

migrant domestic workers pg. - Increase in human trafficking:- In 2004, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP)

estimated that 600-800 persons are trafficked into Canada annually and that additional 1,500-2,200 persons are trafficked through Canada into the United States. http://gvnet.com/humantrafficking/Canada.htm

- Violation of the rights of migrant domestic workers - Calls into question human rights – is Canada doing

enough?

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ANALYSIS cont’d

5. Employment Equity Act• Is the Employment Equity working?

• general improvement in employment equity (EE) attainment over time

• visible minorities continue to be disadvantaged in management, sales and service and technical positions

• growing population of visible minorities require urgent attention, in terms of increasing targets, etc

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ANALYSIS cont’dProgress of the Employment Equity Act• applies to federally regulated employers with 100 or more

employees• Several studies indicate that overseas degrees are often

not recognized by Canadian employers. Since most recent immigrants are VMs, they face a particular hardship in finding jobs consistent with their qualifications. This is because immigration is a federal responsibility and employment, education, and health come under provincial jurisdiction.

• wage gap has actually increased for the female members of the designated groups (VM, Aboriginal women)

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Interactive Discussion:• 2 Groups

• Analyze the provided amendments (pros/cons) – whether these amendments are practical and feasible.

• Suggest additional amendments/ideas to improve these policies

• Vote on which of these two acts require urgent attention. •Immigration Act•The Employment Equity Act

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Interactive Discussion:Amendments to the Employment Equity Act1) This act should apply to municipal, provincial and

federally regulated employers.2) Based on empirical studies, the government must

monitor and enforce this act on smaller size firms as designated groups tend to be mostly under-represented in such firms.

Amendments to the Immigration Act1) Standardize Canadian qualifications for certain careers

with other countries so that immigrants can have access to Canadian jobs according to their qualifications completed in their country of origin – this may eliminate racism within the workplace

2) Count experience outside of Canada when assessing whether an immigrant can be hired for a particular job

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Interactive Discussion: Amendments to the Immigration Act1) Standardize Canadian qualifications for

certain careers with other countries so that immigrants can have access to Canadian jobs according to their qualifications completed in their country of origin – this may eliminate racism within the workplace

2) Count experience outside of Canada when assessing whether an immigrant can be hired for a particular job