Page 164 - Essencials of Sociology

Bureaucracies 137

Cultural Diversity in the United States

Do Your Social Networks Perpetuate
Social Inequality?

Suppose that an outstanding job—great pay, interesting
work, opportunity for advancement—has just opened up
where you work. Who are you going to tell?
Consider some of the principles we have reviewed. We are
part of in-groups, people with whom we identify; we use
reference groups to evaluate our attitudes and behavior;
and we interact in social networks. Our in-groups, reference
groups, and social networks are likely to consist of people It is just a reflection of our contacts, of our everyday
whose backgrounds are similar to our own. For most of us, interaction.
this means that just as social inequality is built into society, To overcome this barrier and advance their careers, women
so it is built into our relationships. One consequence is and minorities do networking. They try to meet “someone who
that we tend to perpetuate social knows someone” (Kantor 2009). Like the
inequality. “good old boys,” they go to parties
Go back to the extract that and join clubs, religious organiza-
opens this box. Who will you tell tions, and political parties. They also
about the opening for this out- use Facebook and other online net-
standing job? Most likely it will working sites. The women’s contacts
be someone you know, a friend have produced a “new girl” network
or someone to whom you owe a in which they steer business to
favor. And most likely your social one another (Jacobs 1997). African
network is made up of people American leaders have cultivated
who look much like yourself— a network so tight that one-fifth of
similar to your age, education, the entire national African Ameri-
social class, race–ethnicity, and, can leadership knows one another
probably also, gender. You can personally. Add some “friends of
see how our social networks both a friend,” and three-fourths of the
reflect the inequality in our soci- When people learn of opportunities, they share this information entire leadership belong to the
ety and help to perpetuate it. with their networks. Opportunities then flow to people whose same network (Taylor 1992).
Consider a network of white characteristics are similar to theirs.
men in some corporation. As
they learn of opportunities (jobs, investments, real estate, For Your Consideration
and so on), they share this information with their networks. ↑ You can see that the perpetuation of social inequality does
This causes opportunities and good jobs to flow to people not require intentional discrimination. Just as social inequality
whose characteristics are similar to theirs. This perpetu- is built into society, so it is built into our personal relation-
ates the “good old boy”’ network, bypassing people who ships. How do you think your social network helps to perpetu-
have different characteristics—in this example, women and ate social inequality? How do you think we can break this
minorities. No intentional discrimination need be involved. cycle? How can we create diversity in our social networks?

imaginable situation. In my university, for example, the rules are published in hand-
books: separate ones for faculty, students, administrators, civil service workers, and
perhaps others that I don’t even know about.
4. Written communications and records. Records are kept for much of what occurs in a
bureaucracy (“Be sure to CC all immediate supervisors”). Some workers must de-
tail their activities in written reports. My university, for example, requires that each
semester, faculty members produce a summary of the number of hours they spent
performing specified activities. They must also submit an annual report listing what
they accomplished in teaching, research, and service—all accompanied by copies of
publications, evidence of service, and written teaching evaluations from each course.
These materials go to committees that evaluate the performance of each faculty
member.