Minorities and women - Essay Example

Sociology Discussion 5: Minorities and Women Q Unpaid care giving and domestic labor According to Acker (2006), the unpaid care giving activities get undervalued in the workforce because the employers assume they are not contributing to capitalism. Therefore, the corporate world maintains the paid production and the unpaid life-sustaining activities such as domestic labor but it does have no responsibility for anything other than the returns they give to shareholders. Such claims are successfully maintained in states with labor force movements that are not strong which results to the successful in the corporate world establishing their interests more than those of the ordinary people. Q. 2.

Industrial Capitalism as a gendered/ racialized institution The moment that the processes of wage inequality and segregation changed in history, is the same time when the two were not eliminated. It is at this point that Acker (2006) argues United States continued to be dominated by the White men who hired only a gender and race segregated labor force. A workforce that Acker (2006) believes has many issues of wage inequality. Q. 3. Structural factors contributing to the economic gap for women of color and the cultural factors that have a role according to the Centre for Community Economic Development Social factors such as the family, polity, religion and the economy in United States contribute to the high economic gap that exists between the black women and other women from other races.

The total value of wealth that minority families own cannot be equated to that of the majority. High rates of poverty among black families may serve as a problem when it comes to families maintaining a safety net against income fluctuations. Women from such families are less likely to inherit any income from their families or get the financial support from their parents to support their educational needs or get jobs that are well-paying. Hence, the economic gap increases between them and the other women of other races who have the financial support of their wealthy parents.

Even though Black women in the U.S are emerging as the most educated as noted by Henderson (2014), they still remain vulnerable and poor. The reasons for this include high unemployment rates, poor government policies, income inequality in organizations and cultural factors which require some to raise children and take care of husbands and forget about their careers. Q. 4. Factors and outcomes leading to the population having more illnesses and dying There are many factors that contribute to black women having more illnesses and dying more than the other groups.

Social inequality such as pay disadvantages and limited access to pension plans as noted by Martin (2010) are some of the factors. Henderson (2014) notes that black women who are 65 years and above have the lowest household income in America than any other group. Having a lower household income directly translates to lack or lower access to high-quality medical services that help in early detection of diseases such as cancers, leading to successful treatment. Henderson (2014) also notes that black women have a higher chance of become victims of violence or murder than women in other groups.

References Acker, J. (2006). Is capitalism gendered and racialized? In Class Questions: Feminist AnswersLanham: MD: Rowman & Littlefield. Martin, M. (Host) (2010, April 11). Women of color lag behind in wealth. NPR News. [Audio podcast]. Retrieved from http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129130480 Henderson, N. (2014, March 17). Report: Black women are political powerhouse yet remain socially vulnerable. The Washington Post. Retrieved from http://goo.gl/uClt6P