Overview
Hi! I attached the pdf of the reading and works cited doesn't need to be included. Complete the prompts in both the 'Check Your Understanding' and 'Critical Thinking with concise answers. Each question should be 4-6 sentences
CHECK YOUR UNDERSTANDING
7.1 What is the extent of income inequality, and how does it vary by race, ethnicity, and gender?
Overall income inequality in the United States is at a historic high. This inequality is exacerbated when we take racial, ethnic, and gender disparities
into account.
Q How has inequality changed over the course of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries?
Q How unequal is the United States compared with other countries?
Q What is the difference between the wage gap and the earnings gap?
7.2 What are some dimensions of labor market inequality?
A complete understanding of racial disparities in the labor market requires a consideration of gender, national-origin differences, incarceration rates,
and unemployment rates.
Q Why is it important to take human capital into account when measuring earnings disparities?
Q How do racism and sexism operate differentlv in the labor market?
7.3 How do sociologists explain labor market inequality?
Sociologists offer various explanations for labor market disparities, ranging from human capital disparities to employer discrimination and structural
changes in the overall economy.
Q To what extent are Asian Americans advantaged or disadvantaged in the U.S. labor market?
Q How do the individual-level explanations for labor market disparities differ from the structural exolanations? To what extent could these
explanations work together?
7.4 Can affirmative action be an appropriate remedy for labor market discrimination?
Few emplovers have affirmative action policies in place. Those that do are required to take positive steps to ensure that their company does not practice racial discrimination and has a diverse workforce that reflects the working-age population of the United States.
Q How has affirmative action been implemented in the United States?
7.5 What is the relationship between self-employment and labor market inequality?
Self-employment and entrepreneurship have worked well for some racial minority groups but not for others.
Q In owning successful small businesses, what barriers do women and racial minorities face in particular?
CRITICAL THINKING
1.How do the wage and earnings gaps represent different facets of inequality?
2. Why has earnings inequality increased over the past fifty years?
3. Of the explanations provided, which do you find most convincing for explaining the earnings disparities between Black men and White men? Why?
4. Why does the author argue that the incarcerated population should be included in counts of the unemployed?
5. Are audit studies a useful way to measure discrimination? Why or why not? What are the weaknesses and strengths of this approach?
6. Why is it important to take gender into account when studying racial inequality?
7. What strategies do you think could be implemented to reduce the earnings penalty for non-White workers?
8. Can people of color avoid discrimination by becoming entrepreneurs? Why or why not?
9.How is an embedded market related to ethnic and racial enclaves? Evaluate how the embedded market affects minority-owned businesses.