DISCRIMINATION

Sociologyindex, Sociology Books 2011

Discrimination is the unequal treatment of a person or group on the basis of their personal characteristics, which may include age, sex, sexual orientation, ethnic or physical identity.

Discrimination can be behavior promoting a person or group or against a against a person or group. Discrimination usually refers to negative treatment, but discrimination in favour of particular groups can also occur.

Setting a condition or requirement without reasonable justification leads to discrimination.

Racial discrimination, like in South Africa in the apartheid era, on the basis of real and perceived racial differences has been official government policy in several countries.

Competitive Threat and Workplace Discrimination
Garcia, Lisette
Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association.
Abstract: Research over the past several decades has examined racial inequality in the American labor market and documented its effects extensively. We have learned a great deal about racial variations in labor market opportunity, wage differentials, and other allocative issues, yet we still know a limited amount regarding causal processes and the mechanisms by which stratification is reinforced in our society. Indeed while history, differences in human capital, and job networking are most assuredly playing a role, they do little to explain gate-keeping and other forms of potentially discriminatory behavior at the workplace level, in particular what drives discrimination. Sociological theory suggests that perhaps the relative concentration of the minority group influences feelings of competition and threat, thereby leading to discriminatory behavior on the part of those trying to protect their position in society. This paper tests the relationship between group size and discrimination. Few studies have been able to directly link discriminatory behavior and the relative size of the minority group due to limitations in available data. Using a multi-level model that combines population data with data drawn from discrimination cases filed in the state of Ohio between 1988-2003, the author tests theories surrounding racial competition and its effects on discrimination. Results indicate that feelings of competition and threat across space due to concentrations of minority populations have consequences for the ways in which discrimination is enacted and by which stratification is maintained in American society.

Investigating the link between competition and discrimination
Sandra E. Black
How competition affects the ability of companies to favor particular groups is a longstanding issue in the economics literature. In a seminal work published in 1957, economist Gary Becker argued that, over the long run, product market competition would drive discrimination out of the marketplace.1 Becker’s model as applied to the labor market can be described in relatively general terms: employers with a "taste for discrimination" will forego profits in order to indulge their desire to employ a specific type of worker. For example, employers with a taste for discrimination against women will employ less than the profit-maximizing number of women. Instead, they will hire a greater number of equally skilled but more highly paid men. Thus, in a perfectly competitive market, nondiscriminating employers can gain a cost advantage and ultimately drive discriminating employers out of business. Becker’s model suggests that the wage gap between men and women will therefore decline as discriminators are forced to leave the market altogether.
Becker goes on to say that where markets are not perfectly competitive—that is, markets in which companies face little product market competition—discriminating employers can exist in the market indefinitely. Given the lack of transparency surrounding the practice of discrimination, it has been difficult to test Becker's theory. By identifying shocks to competition in a market with limited product market competition, however, it is possible to explore some of the dynamic implications of his model. Specifically, this article looks at how intensified trade in manufacturing and deregulation in the banking industry may have reduced firms’ ability to discriminate against women.

Perceived Discrimination and Depression: Moderating Effects of Coping, Acculturation, and Ethnic Support
Samuel Noh, PhD and Violet Kaspar, PhD
Am J Public Health. 2003 February; 93(2): 232–238
The authors evaluated the effects of cultural norms and social contexts on coping processes involved in dealing with perceived racial discrimination.
Cross-sectional data derived from personal interviews with Korean immigrants residing in Toronto were analyzed. Among the respondents, active, problem-focused coping styles were more effective in reducing the impacts on depression of perceived discrimination, while frequent use of passive, emotion-focused coping had debilitating mental health effects.
The present findings lend greater support to a social contextual explanation than to a cultural maintenance explanation of coping processes. They also suggest that, when empowered with sufficient social resources, racial minority individuals of diverse cultural heritages are more likely to confront than to accept racial bias.
Abstract
IN THE STUDY DESCRIBED HERE, we sought to examine how racial/ethnic discrimination may be related to depression by focusing on the ways in which individuals respond to perceived discrimination and how personal coping responses, as well as acculturation and ethnic social support, moderate the impact of perceived racial stigma on depressive symptoms. Stress and coping research provides ample evidence demonstrating that psychological manifestations of social stress are significantly mediated by personal coping behaviors. Health consequences of discrimination also vary according to personal coping responses.
While coping efforts consist of a wide range of cognitive and behavioral activities, they typically involve problem-focused and emotionfocused coping behaviors; however, coping efficacy is determined by many factors, including the nature of the stressor, personal resources, culture, and social contexts.
In a sample of Southeast Asian refugees residing in Canada, Noh and his colleagues found that forbearance or emotion-focused coping diminished the strength of the link between discrimination and depression. Such a stress-moderating effect was not found for problem-focused coping or confrontation. Furthermore, the stress-buffering effect of forbearance was more pronounced when this stance was adopted by individuals with strong attachments to traditional ethnic values and strong group identification. These findings among Southeast Asians contradict the asserted efficacy of active, problem-focused coping in dealing with psychological consequences of perceived racism among Black Americans.
Among Black women residing in the United States, Krieger found that passive responses to racism were associated with high blood pressure, while the use of more direct approaches, such as talking to others or taking action, was related to lower blood pressure levels. In addition, it has been shown that, in comparison with White women, Black women more often cope with sex discrimination in a passive manner, suggesting low perceptions of controllability. The analysis of the Detroit Area Study suggested that, among both Blacks and Whites, passive coping appeared to be the most detrimental form of coping. Active, problem-focused coping showed the largest gains, although levels of well-being were still significantly lower among those who adopted active coping than among those who did not experience discrimination.
According to Noh et al., these contrasts point to the importance of cultural influences on coping. Specifically, they emphasized that the observed efficacy of emotion-focused or forbearance coping in their Asian sample was consistent with the cultural maintenance hypothesis, according to which preferred styles of coping reflect cultural norms and values. Members of collectivistic cultures, including Asians and Latin Americans, exhibit a preference for resolving interpersonal conflicts in a way that reflects concern over consequences for others. The avoidant pattern of conflict resolution found among Asian Canadians was consistent with their traditional cultural norm of evading conflicts and preserving interpersonal relationships.
However, it is possible that the reported effectiveness of the emotion-focused coping response of forbearance, at least among Southeast Asians, may reflect the life situations of the refugees, characterized by a lack of such social and psychological coping resources, including language proficiency, financial security, and confidence in one’s rights and ability to resolve interracial conflicts. Psychological benefits of problem-focused coping may be observed as the refugees gain competence in the Canadian way of life (e.g., official language, cultural and behavioral norms, legal rights). Dissimilarities in results of studies involving Black Americans and Asian refugees may be attributable to contextual differences between the 2 populations, including history and political influence.

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