Ethnic Inequality Theories

• Some believe age can result in inequality that is undeserved and based on labelling
• Others believe that it is directly related to what someone has to offer to society
• What is clear is the idea that similar age groups all given the same high or low status ignores differences related to ethnicity, social class and gender

The Host-Immigration Model

• Britain is a stable, orderly society with consensus
• However, this was disrupted by immigrants in the 1950’s, which caused clashes
• Patterson said the host community (the people who originally lived there) were not racist, just unsure about the newcomers
• Patterson suggested there were three causes of ethnic inequality:

Fear of the difference and change immigrants would bring

Resentment of having to compete immigrants for resources

Immigrants failure to assimilate (integrate/be ‘British’)

• Patterson said immigrants who practiced their own norms/values would not fit in as it made the host culture ‘anxious’
• She was optimistic and said eventually racial harmony would happen as ethnic minorities would shed their old values and take on ones of the host country
• This would happen in three stages:

Accommodation: accepting mainstream culture and learning this, e.g. getting jobs and learning co-workers mannerisms

Integration: when hosts and immigrants socialise outside of work

Assimilation: Complete acceptance of immigrants by rest of society

• Also said interbreeding between races could lead to the disappearance of features which made immigrants different/distinctive

• Critics say she is naïve to assume that all ethnic minority groups adjust to ‘British’ culture
• Some postmodernists argue Britain is a multi-cultural society
• Different ethnic cultures exist together side by side and diversity should be celebrated
• Marxists say she ignores the significant role that capitalism plays within society
• Division of people by race helps to maintain the capitalist structure
• Integration will remain a goal that is impossible to achieve under capitalism

• Pessimistic view of race relations
• Immigration serves the needs of capitalism and labour
• Divides workers from each other so they are easy to controll
• Capitalism prefers conflict between ethnic groups as it is beneficial to the ruling class

• Believes that ‘race’ is itself a human creation
• Cox argues that ‘race’ is something that is developed by exploiters against the exploited and developed through capitalism
• As European nations conquered other areas of the world, they were able to exploit the workforce in those colonies
• They justified their actions through racism, by claiming that white Europeans were superior to other races
• Cox also argues that if racism is developed to justify exploitation, it cannot be developed by those who are exploited
• It is not only White people who are capable of racism, but it White people who developed capitalism, therefore it was them who developed racism
• According to Cox, if capitalism had not developed, then the world may never have experienced racism

• It is difficult to prove that racism is a capitalist ideology
• Also, Cox does not treat race as an important factor in its own right
• This is because he is mainly interested in the economic differences caused by capitalism
• His theory has been labelled ‘race blind’

• Found most immigrants were in low-skilled and low-paid manual jobs that were mainly carried out in poor working conditions
• Many immigrants were also unemployed
• They believe this treatment was down to the need of a ‘reserve army of labour’
• This means it was necessary to have more workers than there were jobs
• This meant the workers could not bargain for higher wages as if they did someone else would just take their job
• After the Second World War, capitalist societies used their reserve army of labour: women
• Therefore, they turned to immigrants to provide a necessary cheap pool of workers
• This led the working class to be divided into two groups- the white population becoming the top layer and the immigrant workers being the group at the bottom
• This made them the most disadvantaged group in that class
• This ‘divide and rule’ tactic helped the ruling class as immigrants were scapegoated (blamed for all the problems)
• This meant the working class became too divided to unite and overthrow the capitalist system

• However, critics say not all ethnic groups are disadvantaged in the UK
• E.g. recent statistics show that there are currently over 5000 Muslim millionaires in Britain
• Also, with changes in law, many economic immigrants now tend to have high-level skills and knowledge

• Neo-Marxist Miles argues that racism is replaced with ‘nationalism’
• This is where individuals saw their nation as superior to other nations
• Miles is influenced by Weber’s theory
• He says status should be used alongside class to explain racism
• Some ethnic minorities themselves may set themselves apart from White majority
• E.g. African-Caribbeans may stress ‘black power’ through groups such as Rastafarians
• This means that through these two processes, White working class discriminating and ethnic minorities following cultural and religious traditions openly leads to ‘racialised class fractions’
• Miles also states that those ethnic minorities that are in middle class are in the lower end
• Many White middle-class do not perceive these ethnic minorities as having the same status as themselves
• This shows that even if ethnic minorities do not experience social inequality class wise, they could experience it status wise

• However, critics says Miles downplays possible cooperation between groups in trade union movements
• This is where people work together to ensure their rights as workers

• Weber recognised the importance in the difference between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat (rich and poor)
• He also argued differences within the working class
• E.g. ethnic differences were also significant
• Weber pointed out that stratification could happen on the basis of non-economic factors too
• Status and party

• Weber also defines class in terms of market situation (some workers have more sought-after knowledge and skills compared to others which affects the wage levels of their jobs)
• Work situation (some workers have more authority than others, which affects their level of independence in jobs)
• Classes are simply groups that share a similar market and work situation
• These situations combined affect a person’s life chances
• It is clear that most White British people in the UK are more likely to have a superior market and work situation compared to ethnic minorities.
• Therefore, White British have superior life chances to ethnic minorities

• Modern society is described by status inequality
• Status groups can be competitive- aim for ‘social closure’
• This means they exclude other groups from their position of privilege
• Could mean status and power are in the hands of the majority ethnic group, making it difficult for ethnic minority groups
• Also observed that status could divide a class group
• Ethnic minority manual workers may have lower status than white manual workers
• Middle class ethnic minorities may experiences status inequality in the form of prejudice attitudes held by both White middle and working class
• Therefore, ethnic minorities not only suffer from social class inequality, but status inequality too

• Weber referred to party in his work.
• Can be defined as a group that forms in order to gain power- this then reflects their own interests
• Organisations such as trade unions are examples of party
• Reflect the idea that status groups, as well as economic groups, can form a basis for political action
• However, trade unions are dominated by White members, which often leads to ethnic minorities’ voices not being heard

• Weber’s theory shows that inequality can occur as a result of cultural as well as economic differences
• However, some argue that Weberian theory still does not provide ways to distinguish between different types of inequality

The Dual Labour Market Theory 

• Distinguished between primary labour market (well paid, secure jobs) and secondary labour market (lower paid job, poor conditions)
• Found Whiter men dominated the primary labour market
• Ethnic minorities made up the secondary labour market, due to low cultural status
• They found that stratification is not purely economic, but status too
• Ethnic minorities take up secondary labour market due to discrimination from bosses
• Also, trade unions are mainly made up of white people and Black and Asian workers are not protected

• This theory ignores the fact that there are some ethnic minorities in crucial primary labour market positions
• This is evidenced by Britain’s 100 Rich List
• The current richest person in the UK, Lakshmi Mittal comes from an ethnic minority background
• Fails to recognise that women from ethnic minorities are worse off than men
• They are in the secondary labour market and experience the concrete ceiling (Davidson 1997)

• Study in Handsworth, Birmingham
• Material disadvantage experienced by ethnic minorities was so great it cut them off from White working-class groups
• Found ethnic minorities formed a separate underclass beneath White working class
• Experienced disadvantage within labour market, houses and education
• These were made worse by the hostility from white societyBlack underclass had been created- people felt alienated and frustrated
• Felt socially excluded from a normal standard of living
• These feelings sometimes led to inner-city riots
• Concluded in a capitalist society, the underclass are the victims
• Ethnic minorities heavily make up the underclass

• Over emphasize ethnic groups as being passive victims of racism
• The position of ethnic minorities is changing
• E.g. Chinese and Indian people are outperforming others at school and are doing well in labour market too
• New Right blame the culture of some ethnic minorities for the poverty and unemployment they experience
• Welfare dependency is an issue for many politicians with these groups

• Developed out of frustration with other types of feminism
• White, middle-class women are seen as leaders of feminism
• This overshadows  the other work that feminists are engaged with
• Black feminists believe in the concept of intersectionality (that oppressions criss-cross and multiple oppressions occur)
• Black feminists point out how other feminists movements fail
• Abbott (2005) argues previous strands of feminism have:
• Claimed to address issues with all women, but have focused on white middle-class (ethnocentric)
• Created ‘victim ideology’- black women are seen as helpless victims, when in fact they have resisted oppression and actively made changes
• Been ‘theoretically racist’- expected black women to write about their own experiences rather than include them in the feminist theory as a whole

• Sees Black feminist theory as an ‘understanding of race, class and gender as coexisting forces’
• Black women suffer from disadvantages because they are black, women and working class
• These are multiples of each other and reinforce each inequality
• Brewer studies the relationship of race, class and gender and how it shapes lives and restricts chances of black women

• Critics say that emphasis is put on racial differences at the expense of other factors such as class, age, sexuality and disability
• Legislation such as the Equal Pay Act (1970), the Sex Discrimination Act (1975) and the Race Relations Act (1976) aim to prevent discrimination on the grounds of class, gender and race
• These legislations have helped to empower ethnic minority women which is clearly shown in how well Indian and Chinese female pupils do at school

• Black feminists can draw on their own experiences and offer other ways of thinking
• They challenge the image that Black women are passive victims of racism, patriarchy and social class inequality
• The ‘Third-World’ view of this woman undermines the fact that many Black women are ‘brave, proud and strong’
• Black feminists have struggled in the fight against domestic violence, tried to overcome sexism and racism in school and developed alternative family forms where women have strength and power

• Many ethnic minority women continue to experience pressures to conform in the family to traditional gender stereotypes and maintain ‘izaat’ (honour and prestige)
• Also, low levels of economic activity and the concrete ceiling means that not all ethnic minority women feel confident, brave and strong
• This occurs particularly in Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities 

• Stresses the link between Black feminism and postcolonial feminism
• Postcolonial feminism explains gender inequalities were caused by colonialism (taking control of another country, occupying it and exploiting economically)
• Particularly in developing countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America
• They believe gender inequalities are embedded in current attitudes towards race, ethnicity and gender
• Connell says it is wrong to base theories on gender upon just a small minority of women, such as those who live just in the UK
• Connell stresses the importance of developing feminist perspectives that challenge the dominance of Western feminism
• She believes most women live in the ‘majority world’ of the southern continents

• Critics say Connell sometimes overemphasises the importance of colonialism rather than gender inequalities

• 'Losing Ground' (1984)
• Charles Murray argued USA had a growing underclass that were a threat to American society
• Government policies were encouraging people to become dependent on benefits
• Claimed during 1960s, welfare reforms encouraged never-been married black single mothers and black youths losing interest in getting a job
• Increase in benefits was counterproductive- stopped self-sufficiency and cost tax payers lots of money
• In Britain in 1989, he argued Britain had an underclass too
• Murray said homes were littered and unkempt
• Men in the family couldn’t hold down a job, drunkenness was common
• Children grew up ill-schooled and ill-behaved, often becoming juvenile delinquents
• Murray found a rise in crime rates and unwillingness among many youths to get jobs
• Traditional values of honesty and family life had been undermined
• Children were raised to take on underclass values like their parents

• Murray ignored economic divisions that lead to the underclass being created e.g. racial prejudice and discrimination
• Rather than taking a sympathetic approach, he blamed them for the situation they find themselves in

• High proportion of Afro-Caribbean boys are raised in lone parent families in the UK
• In 2001, 57% of AC families were lone parent, compared to 25% of white families
• Black boys lack male role model and discipline by a father figure
• Makes boys more vulnerable to peer pressure
• E.g. join gangs to form masculinity
• Members of gangs demand respect, reject authority such as teachers and police and focus on music and fashion instead
• Reinforced in media- gangster rap and hip hop. News reports- black street crime and gun culture

• Critics see him as blaming African-Caribbeans for inequalities they experience
• Accused of blaming black fathers for deserting families, blaming black youth for creating subcultures and blaming black community for not supporting its young people
• Diverted attention from real causes of black underachievement: racist society, institutionally racist education system and economic deprivation