Economic Opportunity

4/18/2012

The girls in the story started in similar circumstances and by the end they diverged into what is assumed to be, two very different paths. The idea of achieving success for these girls is seen differently as well. When Cee-cee gets her scholarship for the summer program, and she achieves valedictorian of her school she is perceived by her teachers and the school as someone on the path to success.

Even though she is a capable and book-smart girl, the reality of the difficulties that she faces in the real world are stacked against her. As shown by these statistics of unemployment rates and salary as dictated by race and sex, equal pay and opportunity is still a myth.

In, "A Historical Overview: Black Women in White America" in reference to Black Women working, "They were twice as likely to be employed as [white women] but their economic horizons were severely limited." This was in reference to Black Women's emergence into the work field. While many things have changed in the present day, including the type of work available, there are still remaining discriminating factors and limitations.

What do these charts say about the types of opportunities available for individuals with varying race and gender?

3 Comments

Katie Kieft

5/1/2012 08:29:35 am

Clearly discrimination still exists, and once again, Black females receive the full brunt of this. There is a long history of Black women being "othered" on account of not only their race but also their gender. I think that this is evidence of the way that they have suffered and also serves as proof of racism's continued existence.

Megan Peters

5/1/2012 09:19:25 am

I really think this chart shows people actual statistics that most people deny. It shows how unproportional pay really is and evidence is really upsetting because it shouldn't be this way today.

Christine Houle

5/1/2012 10:38:22 am

The opportunities between white, black, and Latino races are not equal. There are many factors that could affect the results. Education plays a large role in the results of these statistics. Growing up in a household of poverty can lead to lack of education, which can lead to not graduating high school, and not being able to get a job. Growing up in poverty can be a result of the discrimination of blacks and Latino’s years and years beforehand. People tend to become products of their environments, meaning the people in poverty want to help their families out before they help themselves so they remain in poverty also. They have a hard time escaping their problems because the cycle continues again. The lack of education doesn’t make someone any less intelligent, it makes them less qualified in the job industry. Once again, society affects the lives of innocent people trying to make a living.
Men are considered to be the dominant one in our society. Being a female, this drives me crazy. Every time someone comes into my work they ask if “he” is available, referring to the owner of the store, but the “he” they are referring to is a female. There’s no legitimate reason that males should prosper more than females. People like to stay living in the past and view women as they were viewed in the early 1900s. The stereotype of men being bigger and stronger means they should make more money? I don’t understand. Sex segregation needs to come to an end, along with race.

Economic Opportunity

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