SOCIAL STRATIFICATION:
CLASS AND RACIAL INEQUALITY
Natalie Conte, Oneika Jenkins, Mandeep Chohan
Overview
► Theoretical
approaches
► Dimensions of institutional racism
► Analysis of Racism and Capitalist Relations
of Production
► Population and Labour Force Participation
► Racial and Ethnic Inequality
“Sex and race, because they are easy and visible differences,
have been the primary ways of organizing human beings
into superior and inferior groups and into the cheap labour
in which this system still depends. We are talking about a
society in which there will be no roles other than those
chosen or those earned. We are really talking about
humanism.”
-
GLORIA STEINEM
Racism as an Anomaly/Secondary
Feature of Social/Economic/Political
Relations
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A priori explains away idea that racism is a “problem”
Racism an irrational attribute of an otherwise fair, equal,
achievement-oriented society
Racism is either an anomaly that will eventually disappear
due to universalizing and levelling tendencies of “postindustrialism” or
A secondary feature of social/economic/political relations
Underlying Implications/Criticisms
Racism and the development of ideas that involve
evaluations of superiority/inferiority based on group
differences is a dysfunctional, irrational feature of social
relations
Social practices based on racially defined criteria are
unnecessary for capitalist social and economic
development
Racial Inequality as a Result of
Individual Characteristics
Problem of inequality is not located in structural operation
of society, but rather in the particular cultural or
psychological characteristics of groups of people
► Emphasizes the anomalous nature of inequality within a
mostly fair and equal-opportunity society
► Rosen: groups differ in their levels of achievement
motivation, their “psychological need to excel”
► Herrnstein & Murray: “success and failure in
the…economy…are increasingly a matter of the genes that
people inherit”
Underlying Implication/Criticism
► There is equality of opportunity within a framework of
inequality of condition
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Racial Inequality as a Result of Cultural
Factors
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Root of problem lies in the apparent failure of groups to
assimilate into mainstream social relations, which has
prevented their full participation in society or
There exists a culture of poverty precluding the possibility
of social/economic mobility for certain groups of people
Oscar Lewis: living in a state of poverty creates a certain
culture, which sets into motion a self-fulfilling prophecy
and creates internal, cultural barriers to social mobility and
economic advancement
Underlying Implications/Criticisms:
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Concept of assimilation implies that there are certain
objective, widely accepted standards of behaviour
indicative of social/structural integration
Blaming the victim by focusing on “social maladjustment”
or “social defects”
Values, attitudes, and orientations are assumed to be key
causal variables in stratification process
Values exist in isolation of material circumstances in which
poor people live
Racism and discrimination have no impact on social
inequality
Racial Inequality as a Consequence of
Institutional Racism
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Structural theory explains phenomena by considering
underpinning structures of society, such as history, culture,
public policies, institutional practices, etc.
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Institutional racism (a structural aspect of racist
ideology) refers to sets of social practices that are:
 Institutionally based
 Make reference to individious distinctions based on
physical/genetic criteria
 Have the effect of structuring what certain groups of
people can/can’t do
Canadian Dimensions of Institutional
Racism
Immigration Control
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Has been used to exclude
or deter people of certain
nationality/ethnic origin
from entry into Canada E.g. Chinese head tax,
South Asians and the
“continuous journey” rule
Has been used to relegate
certain immigrants to
cheap labour by limiting
choices in employment
To use immigrants as
leverage in labour disputes
http://archives.cbc.ca/IDC-1-69-1433-9242/life_society/chinese_immigration/clip1
Allocative Mechanism
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Institutional racism used as a means to allocate groups of
people to certain sites in production relations, as some
sectors require large pools of readily available cheap and
docile labour - E.g. The allocation of Caribbean women to
positions as domestic servants
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Migrant labour seen as a way to increase labour-market
flexibility, but also to prevent “undesirable” immigrants
from forming families in Canada
Civil and Political Marginalization
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Non-Europeans regarded as “racially” incapable of
participation in bourgeois democratic political traditions
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Non-Europeans regarded as incapable of taking on
responsibilities/duties of citizenship i.e. voting, obtaining an
education, participating in community life
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The denial of franchise and participation in mainstream
union activities further marginalized part of political basis
upon which these groups could resist their exploitation
Denial of the Family
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State policies have been structured by a desire to preclude
the emergence of Canadian-born generations of nonEuropeans
Some argue that Canadian government’s efforts to
continually narrow definition of a family member under
family class immigration regulations is a current covert
attempt to use neo-racist criteria to curtail family
reunification among Asian immigrants in Canada
Migrant labour from Caribbean also a means to curtail
family formation and creation of Canadian-born black
population
Institutional Racism:
Continuous Journey, 1908
Continuous Journey Regulation of 1908
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Part of the Immigration Policy of Canada Section 38, 1910:
(http://www.collectionscanada.ca/immigrants/021017-2511.01-e.html)
Immigrants had to come by "continuous journey“ and
enter with at least $200 cash on their persons.
► The Canadian government forced Canadian Pacific to
stop this service
► The Canadian government was also pressuring
steamship companies to stop selling tickets to Indians
► a bill was passed denying all Indians the right to vote
► prohibited to run for public office, serve on juries, and
were not permitted to become accountants, lawyers or
pharmacists
► restrictions on Asian immigration were being enacted at
a time when Canada was accepting massive numbers of
European immigrants (over 400,000 in 1913 alone - a
figure that remains unsurpassed to this day.)
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Population and Labour Force Participation
Canadian Social Trends, Visible Minorities in the Labour Force, Kelly Tran
Education
Labour Force Participation for Women
Labour Force Participation for Men
Socio-Economic Characteristics of Canadian-Born,
Foreign-Born, Select Visible Minority Groups, for
Females and Males
Employment Equity
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1984: Royal Commission on Equality in Employment report
coined the term “Employment Equity” to describe the
Canadian approach to dealing with employment
disadvantage.
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Requires that employers identify and remove discriminatory
policies and practices, and seek to achieve equality in the
workplace (Status of Women Canada, p. 4).
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Commission maintained that employment barriers which
were created by systemic discrimination could only be
dismantled through specific legislation
“It is not that individuals in the designated
groups are inherently unable to achieve
equality on their own, it is that the obstacles
in their way are so formidable and selfperpetuating that they cannot be overcome
without intervention…Equality in employment
will not happen unless we make it happen.”
-Royal Commission on Equality in
Employment
Purpose of the Employment Equity Act:
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To achieve equality in the workplace so that no person
shall be denied employment opportunities or benefits for
reasons unrelated to ability
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To correct the conditions of disadvantage in employment
experienced by women, Aboriginal peoples, persons with
disabilities, and visible minority people
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To acknowledge that employment equity means more than
treating persons in the same way but also requires special
measures and the accommodation of differences
(Government of Canada, 2003).
Ethnic and Racial Inequality
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Systematic discrimination: The institutionalized
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Vertical Mosaic: Initiated by John Porter (1965) in The
systems and practices [that] result in arbitrary and
extensive exclusions for persons who, by reason of their
group affiliation, are systematically denied a full
opportunity to demonstrate their individual abilities. (Abello
1984)
Vertical mosaic (used census data to argue that there was
a reciprocal relationship between ethnicity and social class
in Canada. Defined as: where a persons ethnic background
would have a significant impact on where he/she ends up
in the larger system of class relations and social inequality
within Canada.
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People of British and Northern European origins control
many of the economic and political resources in Canada,
they give subordinate positions in the labour market to
those they consider themselves superior too (Eastern
Europeans, Asians, Africans).
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Many studies since the Vertical Mosaic still support that
there is systematic discrimination within the Canadian
labour market.1986 Employment Equity Act introduced to
challenge systematic discrimination in the labour market
against women, visible minorities, aboriginal people and
physically challenged.
Statistics
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Pendakur and Pendakur (1995)
Comparison of Wages Earned For Men
Category
Salary
White men born
in Canada
$36,563
Percentage
Visible minority
born in Canada
$31,653
13.4% Less
Aboriginal men
born in Canada
$28,725
21.4% Less
White immigrants
$38,456
5.2% More
Visible minority
immigrants
$28,285
22.6% Less
Comparison of Wages Earned For Women
Category
Salary
Percentage
White women born $23,173
in Canada
Visible minority
born in Canada
$23,149
0.1% Less
Aboriginal women
born in Canada
$19,887
14.2% Less
White immigrants
$22,498
2.9% Less
Visible minority
immigrants
$20,132
13.1% Less
Results
Pendakur and Pendakur ultimately introduced regression
techniques, which looked at other factors (Occupation,
industry of employment, household type, census
metropolitan areas of residence, number of weeks worked,
full time or part time status, knowledge of French/English
and level of education)
► They concluded that there should be some concern that
visible minorities do face systematic discrimination.
► It was also noted that, visible minority immigrant men face
some form of systematic discrimination that cannot be
explained by any apparent difference in qualification.
► Although it may seem that there is blatant discrimination it
has not been necessarily proven that groups of people with
the same qualifications, gender, experience and occupation
face discrimination in the labour market.
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How does this discrimination take place?
► Submerged
split labour market
► Non-acknowledgement of foreign credentials
Two reports that reported on Non-acknowledgement
of foreign credentials :
► Equality Now! By a special committee on Visible
Minorities 1984
► Equality in Employment 1984, a royal commission
report
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Racism and racial inequality have been central to the
formation and reproduction of capitalist relations or
production in Canada.
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Attempts to fix the problem of racism through education
are thought to only “give the appearance of change without
changing the status quo” (Bolaria and Li 1985, 29)
Class Activity: Employment Equity
Debate
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Formulate thoughtful arguments supporting your
side of the debate.
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Should employment equity initiatives be used in
human resource practices?
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Suppose there exists a consensus that
employment equity is a positive initiative.
Should employment equity be a mandatory
requirement of the private sector?