Social Stratification:
Class and Racial
Inequality
Presented by: Nav Chohan
Mandeep Kaur
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AGENDA FOR
PRESENTATION
• Summary of Reading
• Main terms
• Thesis
• Main Arguments
• Analysis
• Critique of Multiculturalism
• Impact of Neo-Liberalism on Culture of Poverty
• Legacy of Colonialism
• Human Rights
• Analysis of the Employment Equity Act
• Discussion
• Interactive Component
• Discussion Facilitation Question
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SUMMARY – Main Terms
• Racism: delineation of group boundaries on the basis of physical
or genetic criteria (skin colour, eye shape, head shape, or gene
frequencies) & development of ideas that involve evaluations of
superiority or inferiority based on group differences, is a
dysfunctional, irrational, feature of social relations in the country
• Systemic racism: institutionalized 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.
• Institutional racism: normative prescriptions derived from
racist ideas that subordinate groups and deny equal participation
in societal institutions
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SUMMARY – Thesis
The main thesis of this reading is that
racism is not simply a social or
economic problem of society, and that
rather, it is inherently linked to the
capitalist system. In other words,
racism and racial inequality is
necessary in the creation and
perpetuation of capitalism
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SUMMARY – Argument 1
Racial Inequality within the labour force
• Canada’s immigration policy remained fairly
racist up until the 1950s
• Canada could not look to Europeans and the
British to fill need for skilled laborers
• Immigrants from other parts of the world
were allowed into Canada, precisely to meet
the needs of the labour market
• Visible minorities comprised the majority of
the workforce involved in low-skill
occupations
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SUMMARY – Argument 2
Canada’s identity as a vertical mosaic
• a term used by sociologist John Porter to convey the concept that
Canada is a mosaic of different ethnic, language, regional and
religious groupings unequal in status and power.
• Vertical mosaic basically can be understood in relation to the
difference treatment of different groups in Canada. (better
incomes, education and health, etc)
• This term signifies that there are both advantaged and
disadvantaged groups in Canada, which forms class relations and
leads to racial inequalities.
• Porter's view was that in income, occupation and education, this
supposedly beneficial policy worked to the advantage of some ethnic
groups and to the disadvantage of others.
• "Mosaic" is often contrasted with the American concept of "melting
pot." Many Canadians pointed with pride to the alternative
Canadian policy of encouraging immigrants and their descendants
to maintain important aspects of their ancestral cultures.
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SUMMARY – Argument 3
Institutional Racism in Immigration Policies is Influenced by
Labour Market Demands
• how institutional racism plays out in the
Canadian society, by looking at how labour
market needs influence other areas of
governance such as immigration
• i.e. certain groups are denied entry into
Canada in order to prevent unemployment in
the labour market which could cause a repeat
of the end of the KWS
• Chinese workers in CPR
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ANALYSIS
1. Critique of Multiculturalism
• Who is a Canadian?
• “Most of the surveys show that between 10%
and 20% of Canadians are extremely intolerant
of racial minorities.” (pg. 172)
• Canada’s identity as a multicultural state is
questionable.
• Racist immigration policies
• Vertical mosaic – why are some groups doing
better than others?
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ANALYSIS cont’d
2. Culture of poverty
• What is Culture of Poverty? – “Living in poverty
creates a culture that is characterized by a low level of
organization, hostility to representatives of the larger
society, and feelings of hopelessness, dependence, and
inferiority.”
• “The failure of groups to assimilate into mainstream
social relations”
• E.g. Urban ghettos as belonging to African-Americans
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ANALYSIS cont’d
How can culture of poverty be explained?
• Need to look at problems created by capitalist
system, instead of just simply blaming an ethnic
group for their condition of poverty
• Aboriginals in Canada & culture of poverty that
is contained within their community
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ANALYSIS cont’d
• Stats:
• Among First Nations children, 43 per cent lack
basic dental care.
• Overcrowding among First Nations families is
double the rate of that for all Canadian families.
• Mould contaminates almost half of all First Nations
households.
• Almost half of aboriginal children under 15 years
old residing in urban areas live with a single
parent.
• Close to 100 First Nations communities must boil
their water.
• Of all off-reserve aboriginal children, 40 per cent
live in poverty.
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http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2006/11/24/child-
ANALYSIS cont’d
3. Neo-colonialism
- Short Clip – “Racism as History”
http://youtube.com/watch?v=d0nOQUji-WU
- Shows us the earlier form of colonialism
- How fundamentals of colonialism are replicated today
in a capitalist society
- Shows us how racism emerged and how its still
played out today in a similar manner
- E.g. Minorities, blacks, people of colour, still occupy
the majority of lower paying jobs, and the number of
coloured people in management and top positions
within companies, is not representative of their sheer
numbers.
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ANALYSIS cont’d
4. Human Rights
- Continuation of neo-colonialism through rise of migrant
domestic workers pg.
- Increase in human trafficking:
- In 2004, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP)
estimated that 600-800 persons are trafficked into
Canada annually and that additional 1,500-2,200
persons are trafficked through Canada into the United
States. http://gvnet.com/humantrafficking/Canada.htm
- Violation of the rights of migrant domestic workers
- Calls into question human rights – is Canada doing
enough?
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ANALYSIS cont’d
5. Employment Equity Act
• Is the Employment Equity working?
• general improvement in employment equity (EE)
attainment over time
• visible minorities continue to be disadvantaged in
management, sales and service and technical
positions
• growing population of visible minorities require
urgent attention, in terms of increasing targets, etc
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ANALYSIS cont’d
Progress of the Employment Equity Act
• applies to federally regulated employers with 100 or more
employees
• Several studies indicate that overseas degrees are often not
recognized by Canadian employers. Since most recent
immigrants are VMs, they face a particular hardship in finding
jobs consistent with their qualifications. This is because
immigration is a federal responsibility and employment,
education, and health come under provincial jurisdiction.
• wage gap has actually increased for the female members of the
designated groups (VM, Aboriginal women)
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Interactive Discussion:
• 2 Groups
• Analyze the provided amendments
(pros/cons) – whether these amendments
are practical and feasible.
• Suggest additional amendments/ideas to
improve these policies
• Vote on which of these two acts require
urgent attention.
•Immigration Act
•The Employment Equity Act
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Interactive Discussion:
Amendments to the Employment Equity Act
1) This act should apply to municipal, provincial and federally
regulated employers.
2) Based on empirical studies, the government must monitor
and enforce this act on smaller size firms as designated
groups tend to be mostly under-represented in such firms.
Amendments to the Immigration Act
1) Standardize Canadian qualifications for certain careers
with other countries so that immigrants can have access to
Canadian jobs according to their qualifications completed in
their country of origin – this may eliminate racism within
the workplace
2) Count experience outside of Canada when assessing
whether an immigrant can be hired for a particular job
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Interactive Discussion:
Amendments to the Immigration Act
1) Standardize Canadian qualifications for certain
careers with other countries so that immigrants
can have access to Canadian jobs according to
their qualifications completed in their country of
origin – this may eliminate racism within the
workplace
2) Count experience outside of Canada when
assessing whether an immigrant can be hired for
a particular job
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