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Unit 3 Social Inequality
Minority Groups in the
Section
United States
4
• institutionalized discrimination • underclass
• hidden unemployment
Institutionalized Discrimination
Many people believe that discrimination in the United States ended when civil rights legislation was passed in the 1960s. These laws did stop many discriminatory practices. Nevertheless, minorities in this country
still suffer from what sociologists call institutionalized discrimination. This type of discrimination results from unfair practices that are part of the struc- ture of society and that have grown out of traditional, accepted behaviors.
Seniority systems, in which promotion and pay increase with years of ser- vice, for example, can discriminate against minority workers. Because they were shut out of jobs in the past, members of minorities are just now begin- ning to enter seniority systems. Having fewer years of service than majority members who have been in the system for years, minority members’ chances for quick promotion are slight, even though the seniority systems may not have been intentionally designed to obstruct their progress.
Another example of institutionalized discrimination exists in public edu- cation. Schools with large numbers of minority students are more likely to be located in large urban areas than in wealthier suburbs. This is the case in part
Institutionalized discrimination has contributed to the deterioration of some inner-city public schools.
Key Terms
Section
Section
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Discrimination in the United States has caused some ethnic and racial groups
to lag behind the white ma- jority in jobs, income, and ed- ucation. Progress is being made, but gains remain frag- ile. African American, Latino, Asian American, Native American, and white ethnics are the largest minority groups in this country.
institutionalized discrimination
unfair practices that grow out of common behaviors and attitudes and that are a part of the structure of a society