Deck 5: Class, Status, and Party

Question 1

From "Sex, Race, and Ethnic Inequality in the United States Workplaces" by Barbara F. Reskin and Irene Padavic
Reskin and Padavic discuss trends in: A) occupational distribution, and B) income attainment, by race and sex in the American workplace. They depict an opportunity structure that continues to disadvantage others than white males, although the disadvantage is probably less in recent decades than before. They emphasize the role of occupational segregation as causally important for trends and place it within class "suppy-" and "structural/demand-" side dynamics that generate inequities.
-According to the authors, which of the following is an underlying measure of inequality in the workplace?

A) Different credentials
B) Segregation
C) Different aspirations
D) Different work commitment.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

From "Sex, Race, and Ethnic Inequality in the United States Workplaces" by Barbara F. Reskin and Irene Padavic
Reskin and Padavic discuss trends in: A) occupational distribution, and B) income attainment, by race and sex in the American workplace. They depict an opportunity structure that continues to disadvantage others than white males, although the disadvantage is probably less in recent decades than before. They emphasize the role of occupational segregation as causally important for trends and place it within class "suppy-" and "structural/demand-" side dynamics that generate inequities.
-Levels of occupational segregation on the basis of race, ethnicity, and sex have actually risen in recent decades.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

From "Sex, Race, and Ethnic Inequality in the United States Workplaces" by Barbara F. Reskin and Irene Padavic
Reskin and Padavic discuss trends in:

A) occupational distribution, and
B) income attainment, by race and sex in the American workplace. They depict an opportunity structure that continues to disadvantage others than white males, although the disadvantage is probably less in recent decades than before. They emphasize the role of occupational segregation as causally important for trends and place it within class "suppy-" and "structural/demand-" side dynamics that generate inequities.

-What do the authors mean by "hierarchical segregation"? Provide examples of it.

Answer 3

In the context of Reskin and Padavic's work, "hierarchical segregation" refers to the systematic and institutionalized practice of limiting certain groups of people, often based on their race, sex, or ethnicity, to lower status positions within the occupational hierarchy. This form of segregation is not just about separating different groups into different jobs, but also about placing them in a hierarchy where some jobs are considered superior and others inferior.

For example, women and people of color might be disproportionately represented in lower-paying jobs with fewer opportunities for advancement, while white males are more likely to hold higher-status, higher-paying jobs. This could be seen in industries such as technology, where white males dominate the higher-level positions, while women and people of color are often found in lower-level positions. Similarly, in the healthcare industry, white males are often overrepresented among doctors, while women and people of color are more likely to be nurses or aides. These are examples of hierarchical segregation, where not only are jobs segregated by race and sex, but there is also a clear hierarchy in terms of status and pay.
Hierarchical segregation implies that there is a vertical division of labor that aligns with social hierarchies. This means that even within the same industry or organization, people of different races, sexes, and ethnic backgrounds are not evenly distributed across the various levels of authority and responsibility. Instead, there is a tendency for minority groups to be underrepresented in leadership and high-status roles and overrepresented in lower-status positions.
Examples of hierarchical segregation include:
1. Corporate Leadership: White males are disproportionately represented in executive positions such as CEOs, CFOs, and board members, while women and minorities are less likely to hold these high-status jobs.
2. Academia: In many universities, there is a higher representation of white males as tenured professors and department heads, while women and minority faculty members are more often found in non-tenure-track positions or as assistant professors.
3. Healthcare: White males are more likely to be surgeons—a high-status and well-compensated specialty—while women and minorities are more commonly found in lower-status healthcare roles such as nursing or medical assistants.
4. Tech Industry: There is a notable underrepresentation of women and certain racial minorities in high-level engineering and technical roles, which are often the most prestigious and well-paid positions in the sector.
Reskin and Padavic argue that this hierarchical segregation is not simply a result of individual choices or qualifications but is also shaped by supply-side dynamics (such as socialization, education, and networks) and demand-side dynamics (such as employer preferences, discrimination, and institutional practices). These dynamics contribute to the perpetuation of occupational segregation and the resulting income disparities by race and sex. They suggest that to address these inequities, it is necessary to understand and change the structural factors that maintain hierarchical segregation in the workplace.

Question 4

From "Sex, Race, and Ethnic Inequality in the United States Workplaces" by Barbara F. Reskin and Irene Padavic
Reskin and Padavic discuss trends in: A) occupational distribution, and B) income attainment, by race and sex in the American workplace. They depict an opportunity structure that continues to disadvantage others than white males, although the disadvantage is probably less in recent decades than before. They emphasize the role of occupational segregation as causally important for trends and place it within class "suppy-" and "structural/demand-" side dynamics that generate inequities.
-Which of the following is a an important job characteristic that white males enjoy over other race/sex groups:

A) Job autonomy
B) Job flexibility
C) Decision-making/job authority
D) Job mobility.

Question 5

From "Sex, Race, and Ethnic Inequality in the United States Workplaces" by Barbara F. Reskin and Irene Padavic
Reskin and Padavic discuss trends in:

A) occupational distribution, and
B) income attainment, by race and sex in the American workplace. They depict an opportunity structure that continues to disadvantage others than white males, although the disadvantage is probably less in recent decades than before. They emphasize the role of occupational segregation as causally important for trends and place it within class "suppy-" and "structural/demand-" side dynamics that generate inequities.

-Describe the roots and consequences of "ghettoization" and "job-title inflation" experienced by minorities and women in the workplace.

Question 6

From "Sex, Race, and Ethnic Inequality in the United States Workplaces" by Barbara F. Reskin and Irene Padavic
Reskin and Padavic discuss trends in:

A) occupational distribution, and
B) income attainment, by race and sex in the American workplace. They depict an opportunity structure that continues to disadvantage others than white males, although the disadvantage is probably less in recent decades than before. They emphasize the role of occupational segregation as causally important for trends and place it within class "suppy-" and "structural/demand-" side dynamics that generate inequities.

-Characterize "suppy" and "structural discrimination" explanations for inequality and how they work.

Question 7

From "Sex, Race, and Ethnic Inequality in the United States Workplaces" by Barbara F. Reskin and Irene Padavic
Reskin and Padavic discuss trends in:

A) occupational distribution, and
B) income attainment, by race and sex in the American workplace. They depict an opportunity structure that continues to disadvantage others than white males, although the disadvantage is probably less in recent decades than before. They emphasize the role of occupational segregation as causally important for trends and place it within class "suppy-" and "structural/demand-" side dynamics that generate inequities.

-How are female and minority jobs "devalued" according to the authors?

Question 8

"Toward a New Vision: Race, Class, and Gender as Categories of Analysis and Connection" by Patricia Hill Collins
Collins advocates a new vision of how race, class, and gender operate to structure inequality in daily life. Rather than focusing on their additive effects, she advances a perspective in which they are seen as interlocking, with each having roots in experiences with institutions, interactions, and the symbolic governing of daily life.
-What does Collins mean when saying "additive" effects of race, class, and gender are unable to explain patterns of domination and subordination?

Question 9

"Toward a New Vision: Race, Class, and Gender as Categories of Analysis and Connection" by Patricia Hill Collins
Collins advocates a new vision of how race, class, and gender operate to structure inequality in daily life. Rather than focusing on their additive effects, she advances a perspective in which they are seen as interlocking, with each having roots in experiences with institutions, interactions, and the symbolic governing of daily life.
-Collins believes that domination is a product of race, class, and gender as interlocking and mutually reinforcing dynamics.

Question 10

"Toward a New Vision: Race, Class, and Gender as Categories of Analysis and Connection" by Patricia Hill Collins
Collins advocates a new vision of how race, class, and gender operate to structure inequality in daily life. Rather than focusing on their additive effects, she advances a perspective in which they are seen as interlocking, with each having roots in experiences with institutions, interactions, and the symbolic governing of daily life.
-Reconceptualizing race, class, and gender, according to Collins, depends on:

A) Rethinking dichotomous/oppositional categories in our daily life
B) Building broad friendship coalitions
C) Being more truthful with others
D) None of the above.

Question 11

"Toward a New Vision: Race, Class, and Gender as Categories of Analysis and Connection" by Patricia Hill Collins
Collins advocates a new vision of how race, class, and gender operate to structure inequality in daily life. Rather than focusing on their additive effects, she advances a perspective in which they are seen as interlocking, with each having roots in experiences with institutions, interactions, and the symbolic governing of daily life.
-Discuss Collins' notion that institutions constitute a dimension of oppression.

Question 12

"Toward a New Vision: Race, Class, and Gender as Categories of Analysis and Connection" by Patricia Hill Collins
Collins advocates a new vision of how race, class, and gender operate to structure inequality in daily life. Rather than focusing on their additive effects, she advances a perspective in which they are seen as interlocking, with each having roots in experiences with institutions, interactions, and the symbolic governing of daily life.
-Discuss Collins' notion that oppression is rooted in a "symbolic" dimension.

Question 13

"Toward a New Vision: Race, Class, and Gender as Categories of Analysis and Connection" by Patricia Hill Collins
Collins advocates a new vision of how race, class, and gender operate to structure inequality in daily life. Rather than focusing on their additive effects, she advances a perspective in which they are seen as interlocking, with each having roots in experiences with institutions, interactions, and the symbolic governing of daily life.
-Discuss the "individual" dimension of oppression.

Question 14

"Toward a New Vision: Race, Class, and Gender as Categories of Analysis and Connection" by Patricia Hill Collins
Collins advocates a new vision of how race, class, and gender operate to structure inequality in daily life. Rather than focusing on their additive effects, she advances a perspective in which they are seen as interlocking, with each having roots in experiences with institutions, interactions, and the symbolic governing of daily life.
-Collins maintains that transcending barriers should include realizing and discussing:

A) Differences in power and privilege
B) Common coalitions
C) Building empathetic relations
D) All of the above.

Question 15

"Intersectionality" by Irene Browne and Joya Misra
Browne and Misra present a systematic analysis of "intersectionality," which focuses on gender, race, and class as mutually reinforcing forms of oppression and stratification. Significantly, while there is considerable variation in intersectionality approaches, common to them is the notion that each of the intersecting bases operates on each other, so that they cannot be analyzed separately. Developed primarily out of black feminist research, intersectionality research maintains that individual stratification experiences are simultaneously affected by all competing bases.
-Browne and Misra maintain that intersectionality operates across distinct analytic levels from individuals to social systems. Explain this statement.

Question 16

"Intersectionality" by Irene Browne and Joya Misra
Browne and Misra present a systematic analysis of "intersectionality," which focuses on gender, race, and class as mutually reinforcing forms of oppression and stratification. Significantly, while there is considerable variation in intersectionality approaches, common to them is the notion that each of the intersecting bases operates on each other, so that they cannot be analyzed separately. Developed primarily out of black feminist research, intersectionality research maintains that individual stratification experiences are simultaneously affected by all competing bases.
-What do Browne and Misra mean when they say intersectionality has more than an "additive effect" in structuring oppression by particular statuses such as race, class, and gender?

Question 17

"Intersectionality" by Irene Browne and Joya Misra
Browne and Misra present a systematic analysis of "intersectionality," which focuses on gender, race, and class as mutually reinforcing forms of oppression and stratification. Significantly, while there is considerable variation in intersectionality approaches, common to them is the notion that each of the intersecting bases operates on each other, so that they cannot be analyzed separately. Developed primarily out of black feminist research, intersectionality research maintains that individual stratification experiences are simultaneously affected by all competing bases.
-According to Browne and Misra, what kinds of stereotypes indicate the presence of intersectionality dynamics?

Question 18

"Intersectionality" by Irene Browne and Joya Misra
Browne and Misra present a systematic analysis of "intersectionality," which focuses on gender, race, and class as mutually reinforcing forms of oppression and stratification. Significantly, while there is considerable variation in intersectionality approaches, common to them is the notion that each of the intersecting bases operates on each other, so that they cannot be analyzed separately. Developed primarily out of black feminist research, intersectionality research maintains that individual stratification experiences are simultaneously affected by all competing bases.
-What categorizes the "anti-categorical," "single group," and "group comparison" approaches to studying intersectionality?

Question 19

"Intersectionality" by Irene Browne and Joya Misra
Browne and Misra present a systematic analysis of "intersectionality," which focuses on gender, race, and class as mutually reinforcing forms of oppression and stratification. Significantly, while there is considerable variation in intersectionality approaches, common to them is the notion that each of the intersecting bases operates on each other, so that they cannot be analyzed separately. Developed primarily out of black feminist research, intersectionality research maintains that individual stratification experiences are simultaneously affected by all competing bases.
-In intersectionality theory, statuses such as race, class, and gender all assume a similar causal role in structuring oppression.

Question 20

"Intersectionality" by Irene Browne and Joya Misra
Browne and Misra present a systematic analysis of "intersectionality," which focuses on gender, race, and class as mutually reinforcing forms of oppression and stratification. Significantly, while there is considerable variation in intersectionality approaches, common to them is the notion that each of the intersecting bases operates on each other, so that they cannot be analyzed separately. Developed primarily out of black feminist research, intersectionality research maintains that individual stratification experiences are simultaneously affected by all competing bases.
-To date, which institutional context has been the prior focus of analysis in intersectionality research?

A) Education
B) Politics
C) The workplace
D) Residence.

Question 21

"Intersectionality" by Irene Browne and Joya Misra
Browne and Misra present a systematic analysis of "intersectionality," which focuses on gender, race, and class as mutually reinforcing forms of oppression and stratification. Significantly, while there is considerable variation in intersectionality approaches, common to them is the notion that each of the intersecting bases operates on each other, so that they cannot be analyzed separately. Developed primarily out of black feminist research, intersectionality research maintains that individual stratification experiences are simultaneously affected by all competing bases.
-Which of the following is not a widely recognized basis in intersectionality research?

A) Sex
B) Age
C) Ethnicity
D) Class.

Question 22

From Flat Broke with Children by Sharon Hays
Hays considers the roots and consequences of welfare reform which was implemented in the mid-1990s. Particularly noteworthy is that she discusses its implications in terms of attempts to institutionalize core American values such as family responsibility, economic frugality, and individual initiative as well as its concrete implications for enhancing economic opportunities. Her view is largely negative: welfare reform has failed along these lines.
-According to Hays, the American public is ambivalent about welfare reform. Explain this ambivalence.

Question 23

From Flat Broke with Children by Sharon Hays
Hays considers the roots and consequences of welfare reform which was implemented in the mid-1990s. Particularly noteworthy is that she discusses its implications in terms of attempts to institutionalize core American values such as family responsibility, economic frugality, and individual initiative as well as its concrete implications for enhancing economic opportunities. Her view is largely negative: welfare reform has failed along these lines.
-According to Hays, what are the "symbolic boundaries" of perceptions toward welfare reform?

Question 24

From Flat Broke with Children by Sharon Hays
Hays considers the roots and consequences of welfare reform which was implemented in the mid-1990s. Particularly noteworthy is that she discusses its implications in terms of attempts to institutionalize core American values such as family responsibility, economic frugality, and individual initiative as well as its concrete implications for enhancing economic opportunities. Her view is largely negative: welfare reform has failed along these lines.
-Highlight some of the negative stereotypes Americans have about those on welfare.

Question 25

From Flat Broke with Children by Sharon Hays
Hays considers the roots and consequences of welfare reform which was implemented in the mid-1990s. Particularly noteworthy is that she discusses its implications in terms of attempts to institutionalize core American values such as family responsibility, economic frugality, and individual initiative as well as its concrete implications for enhancing economic opportunities. Her view is largely negative: welfare reform has failed along these lines.
-According to Hays, welfare reform has been effective in:

A) Eliminating prison populations
B) Creating good jobs
C) Trimming welfare rolls
D) Increasing opportunities for childcare.

Question 26

From Flat Broke with Children by Sharon Hays
Hays considers the roots and consequences of welfare reform which was implemented in the mid-1990s. Particularly noteworthy is that she discusses its implications in terms of attempts to institutionalize core American values such as family responsibility, economic frugality, and individual initiative as well as its concrete implications for enhancing economic opportunities. Her view is largely negative: welfare reform has failed along these lines.
-According to Hays, perhaps the biggest "winner" from welfare reform has been employers of low-level service workers who have found an increasing supply of labor.

Question 27

From Flat Broke with Children by Sharon Hays
Hays considers the roots and consequences of welfare reform which was implemented in the mid-1990s. Particularly noteworthy is that she discusses its implications in terms of attempts to institutionalize core American values such as family responsibility, economic frugality, and individual initiative as well as its concrete implications for enhancing economic opportunities. Her view is largely negative: welfare reform has failed along these lines.
-Hays documents the long list of negative social and economic consequences of welfare. Discuss them.

Question 28

From Flat Broke with Children by Sharon Hays
Hays considers the roots and consequences of welfare reform which was implemented in the mid-1990s. Particularly noteworthy is that she discusses its implications in terms of attempts to institutionalize core American values such as family responsibility, economic frugality, and individual initiative as well as its concrete implications for enhancing economic opportunities. Her view is largely negative: welfare reform has failed along these lines.
-According to Hays, welfare reform has succeeded in:

A) Placing more single mothers in jobs
B) Placing more single mothers in high-paying jobs
C) Placing more children in schools
D) Ensuring that more single parents graduate from college.