Discrimination

Allowing Girls to Hold up Half the Sky: Combining Norm Shifting and Economic Incentives to Combat Daughter Discrimination in China

by Lesley Wexler

Chicago Journal of International Law, Vol. 7, No. 1, 2006

The related problems of missing women and daughter discrimination plague contemporary China. Although statistics... more The related problems of missing women and daughter discrimination plague contemporary China. Although statistics predict only a slightly greater male birth rate and a slightly lower female mortality rate in the first few years after birth, sons substantially outnumber daughters in modern Chinese families. This article assesses the mechanisms by which families effect daughter discrimination: sex selective abortions, female infanticide, child abandonment, underinvestment of family resources in girls, as well as secondary reinforcing practices like lineage societies and patrilocal living arrangements. Rather than developing legal proposals to counteract each of these individual practices, this paper suggests ways that law can help ameliorate the root causes of the widespread son preference.

China's rapid shift away from the once-prevalent custom of footbinding provides a helpful lesson for those seeking to use law to change social practices. Both footbinding and modern daughter discrimination rest on a belief trap, a set of incorrect but self-reinforcing perceptions, about the economic and social value of girls. In the context of footbinding, the combination of anti-binding associational societies and laws supporting the anti-binding position helped foster a norm cascade in opposition to footbinding, leading to the rapid elimination of that practice. This historical success suggests a template for approaching daughter discrimination in modern China. Specifically, this article proposes: (1) the creation of modern associational societies that eschew daughter discrimination; (2) the provision of financial incentives to family planning workers and doctors to promote female births; and (3) the development of targeted economic reforms to erode support for patrilocal and patrilineal traditions.

Passive Discrimination: When Does it Make Sense to Pay Too Little?

by Lesley Wexler

University of Chicago Law Review, Vol. 76, p. 797, 2009

Economists have long recognized the ability of employers to construct benefits packages to induce workers to sort... more Economists have long recognized the ability of employers to construct benefits packages to induce workers to sort themselves. For instance, to encourage applications from individuals with a highly valued but largely unobservable characteristic, such as patience, employers might offer benefits that patient individuals are likely to value more than other individuals. By offering a compensation package with highly valued benefits but a relatively low wage, employers will attract workers with the favored characteristic and discourage other individuals from applying for or accepting the job. While economic theory generally views this kind of self-selection in value neutral terms, prejudiced employers could exploit this mechanism design framework to systematically discriminate against individuals on the basis of observable characteristics that the law prohibits employers from considering in their hiring decisions. As long as groups systematically differ in their preferences for various employment terms and conditions, employers can generate sorting in the application and employment acceptance stages, leading to the desired segregated outcome in a way that regulators will find difficult to prevent without dictating uniformity in benefits packages.

We develop a formal model as well as an intuitive discussion of the phenomenon. We provide a number of representative illustrations of how a prejudiced employer could exploit preference heterogeneity for discriminatory ends.These mechanisms include wage and benefit packages such as (1) high pension, low wages, (2) commission-based salaries, (3) Sundays off policies, and (4) free school tuition. We also note that some employers might end up with a segregated workforce even when they have no intention to sort workers or when they intend to sort for a non-discriminatory characteristic.

Finally, we conclude that current federal antidiscrimination law inadequately addresses either intentional or unintentional passive discrimination. Neither disparate treatment nor disparate impact frameworks are well suited to grappling with this form of structural discrimination. Passive discrimination facilitates rather than impedes employee choice and thus, might not be viewed as discrimination per se, even if it results in workplace segregation or means that individuals with protected characteristics who fail to self sort are least likely to value the form of compensation and fringe benefits they receive. We discuss some possible judicial and legislative approaches that may ameliorate passive discrimination, though many raise serious questions of their own.

Wal-Mart Matters

by Lesley Wexler

Wake Forest Law Review, Vol. 46, 2011

Wal-Mart is the largest private employer in the United States, with more than one million current employees. Its... more Wal-Mart is the largest private employer in the United States, with more than one million current employees. Its employment practices directly affect over one percent of the American workforce. Moreover, other retailers often strive to replicate Wal-Mart’s practices. If employment discrimination is pervasive at Wal-Mart, it may thrive throughout the retail market. Assuming the empirical evidence supports the claim that Wal-Mart engaged in widespread pay and promotion discrimination against female employees, what could explain the persistence of such a practice in a company known for its devotion to efficiency principles? In answering this question, this Article builds on an earlier coauthored paper that created a model to demonstrate how employment discrimination could persist even in a highly competitive market. In this Article, I add to the criticism of unregulated markets by analyzing a real-world example in which a seemingly competitive market allegedly allows discrimination to flourish. This Article suggests that the reasons why the market may have failed to eliminate sex discrimination at Wal-Mart are of both theoretical and practical importance. Regardless of whether the Wal-Mart plaintiffs ultimately prevail in a lawsuit, this analysis of the retail labor market speaks to the justification for, if not the efficacy of, government regulation in this area. In other words, Wal-Mart matters.

"Am I my brother's keeper?" Discriminatory practices in the name of security

by Miguelángel Verde Garrido

Published in: Identity and Alterity in Multiculturalism and Social Justice: "Conflicts", "Identity", "Alterity", "Solutions?" (2008). (vol. 4). (pp.128-148). Kyoto: Research Center for Ars Vivendi/Ritsumeikan University.
ISSN 1882-6539

Seven years after the Japanese government abolished fingerprinting of foreign nationals due to an unusual display of... more Seven years after the Japanese government abolished fingerprinting of foreign nationals due to an unusual display of discontent in civil society, it has decided to amend its immigration laws (改正入管法) to allow, once more, for fingerprinting and photographing of foreign nationals, no matter their visa or residence status. In blatant contradiction with Japanese law, which makes it illegal to fingerprint anyone that has not been charged with a crime, this controversial measure is weakly justified by stating it will help to “prevent the occurrence of acts of terrorism against Japan.” However, with the exception of the Japanese Embassy hostage crisis in Lima, Peru, Japan has never suffered a terrorist act that didn’t involve Japanese nationals solely. The arrests that followed the Aum Shinrikyou’s (オウム真理経) fiendish Tokyo sarin gas incident lead approximately twenty Japanese nationals to be tried and convicted by the justice system, but none of the cult’s internationals members were ever found to be involved in the attacks. Similarly, the infamous Japanese Red Army (日本赤軍), which hijacked airplanes, bombed and stormed company facilities and embassies, and murdered civilian bystanders indiscriminately, perpetrated thirteen terrorist acts between the 1970s and the 1980s. And yet, only two on them were committed on Japanese soil, while the other eleven were committed abroad; in every case, nonetheless, the participants involved in the attacks were solely Japanese nationals.
The Japanese word for a stranger (他人) is an “other person.” Foreigners (外国人, “outside country people”), likewise, are usually called gaijin (外人), “outside people” or “outsider,” in informal circumstances. The Japanese scholar Ohsawa Masachi has forwarded that the Aum sect “can be seen as an extreme reflection of Japanese society in general,” since it “mirrors the same type of fear toward the ambivalent ‘other’ common within the Japanese population.” For Ohsawa, that fear of the ambivalent ‘other’ is “a symptom of the social disintegration brought forth by advanced capitalism,” and in that manner “not particular to the Japanese, but rather reflected in many ethnic nationalisms and religious fundamentalisms of contemporary global society.” Nowadays, when globalization leads us inevitably to attempt to constructively deal with the intricacies of multicultural contexts, the return of undeniable racisms and state-sponsored discriminatory policies must be carefully analyzed and protested.

The Uses of a Good Theory

by Steve Bearman

Co-authored with Faye Crosby

How does one diminish discrimination? Many members of SPSSI, including the present authors, have tried to reduce... more How does one diminish discrimination? Many members of SPSSI, including the present authors, have tried to reduce discrimination through the application of good theories. We outline three theoretical approaches that Crosby, like many other psychologists, has taken as she has struggled with discrimination. Sometimes missing in Crosby's approach, and often missing in the approach of others, is a frank avowal of values. We argue that the attempt to divorce science from values renders theories less effective than they need be and even allows unexamined values to contaminate good research.

“Passing” for White to Get Into Harvard? By Grace Yia-Hei Kao

by Feminism and Religion

Originally published on Feminism and Religion project

Asian Americans and Harvard University have been in the news and on my mind recently. The bigger story has been about... more Asian Americans and Harvard University have been in the news and on my mind recently. The bigger story has been about the “Linsanity” surrounding (Harvard grad) New York Knicks player Jeremy Lin who continues to take the NBA by storm.

The smaller story, though one that also made national headlines in  early February, is of the recent decision by the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights to investigate a complaint that Harvard and Princeton Universities discriminate against Asian Americans in admissions.

According to Daniel Golden of the Bloomberg News who first broke the story:

“Like Jews in the first half of the 20th century, who faced quotas at Harvard, Princeton, and other Ivy League schools, Asian-Americans are over-represented at top universities relative to their population, yet must meet a higher standard than other applicants based on measures such as test scores and high school grades, according to several academic studies.”

Discriminación racial y de origen étnico en la Europa de los derechos

by Jone I. Elizondo

Multiple Forms of Perceived Discrimination and Health among Adolescents and Young Adults

by Eric Anthony Grollman

Published in the Journal of Health and Social Behavior, June 2012: http://hsb.sagepub.com/content/early/2012/05/14/0022146512444289.abstract

Research on perceived discrimination has overwhelmingly focused on one form of discrimination, especially race... more Research on perceived discrimination has overwhelmingly focused on one form of discrimination, especially race discrimination, in isolation from other forms. The present article uses data from the Black Youth Culture Survey, a nationally representative, racially and ethnically diverse sample of 1,052 adolescents and young adults to investigate the prevalence, distribution, and mental and physical health consequences of multiple forms of perceived discrimination. The findings suggest that disadvantaged groups, especially multiply disadvantaged youth, face greater exposure to multiple forms of discrimination than their more privileged counterparts. The experience of multiple forms of discrimination is associated with worse mental and physical health above the effect of only one form and contributes to the relationship between multiple disadvantaged statuses and health. These findings suggest that past research may misspecify the discrimination-health relationship and fails to account for the disproportionate exposure to discrimination faced by multiply disadvantaged individuals.

Discriminations systémiques et égalité des opportunités

by Marc-Antoine Dilhac

Prejudice in verbal interaction

by Susan Condor

Existing social psychological perspectives tend to overlook the fact that public expressions of racial, ethnic or... more Existing social psychological perspectives tend to overlook the fact that public expressions of racial, ethnic or national prejudice normally constitute collaborative accomplishments, the product of joint action between a number of individuals. Awareness of the inherently dialogical character of prejudiced talk affords appreciation of the ways in which expressions of ethnic or racial antipathy need not simply be used to display a speaker’s private attitudes or to defend a group position, but may also be oriented to the local context of talk in action. Recognizably prejudiced talk may be used to claim the floor, to bully, to amuse, to shock, to display intimacy and solidarity, to mark a variety of personal and social identities or to key the informal, backstage, character of a social encounter. The fact that prejudiced talk can be intricately woven through the delicate choreography of everyday sociability may greatly complicate any attempts to challenge it.

The “chilling effect” of metastereotyping on employability beliefs and job-seeking resilience among members of disadvantaged groups

by Chuma Owuamalam

Co-authored with Hanna Zagefka. I am first author.

This work was recently honored with an International Travel Award by the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues (SPSSI) to present its findings at the Society's 9th Biennial Convention in Charlotte NC (June, 2012). The selection committee for this award described the work as an "exceptional" contribution to the understanding of the psychology of disadvantaged group membership.

This research examined the hypothesis that negative metastereotypes would undermine employability beliefs and... more This research examined the hypothesis that negative metastereotypes would undermine employability beliefs and job-seeking resilience of members of disadvantaged groups and that this effect would be mediated by subsequent self-views following the activation of such stereotypes. Taken jointly, results from one correlational study and two experiments supported this hypothesis. This mediated effect was visible amongst those whose prior self-esteem was high but not those whose prior self-esteem was low (Studies 1 and 2). Study 3 further showed that the differential effects of metastereotyping on employability beliefs among those with prior high and low self-esteem was structured further by members’ level of identification: Employability beliefs of those whose prior self-esteem was high was undermined by metastereotyping only if they were strongly (but not weakly) identified with the ingroup. For members who are low in self-esteem the undermining effect of metastereotypes was only evident amongs weak (but not strong) identifiers. In addition, there was a serial indirect negative effect of metastereotyping on members’ resilience at job-seeking (imagined job application scenario) via state self-esteem and employability beliefs. The discussion focuses on the implications of the findings for socio-economic mobility of members of disadvantaged groups.

Guilt and Shame Through Recipients' Eyes: The Moderating Effect of Blame

by Caroline Kamau

Giner-Sorolla, R., Kamau, C.W. & Castano, E. (2010)

Previous research has found that people collectively wronged by an outgroup take insult when its representative offers... more Previous research has found that people collectively wronged by an outgroup take insult when its representative offers compensation, and that an expression of shame but not guilt can lower such insult. This experiment showed a moderating factor: strength of outgroup blame. Black community members were participants, presented with an apology for discriminatory searches of Blacks by the police. The effects – that shame but not guilt reduces insult from compensation – were replicated only among those who strongly blamed outgroup entities. As before, these effects emerged only on insult rather than satisfaction measures, and only when compensation was offered. When blamed by the public, an official body should therefore consider how much its apology conveys shame rather than guilt. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)

Io sono... cosa?

by Alexander Schuster

Non-scientific journal article (in Italian)

Segnalo che è nata una nuova rivista dell'UNAR con focus sulle discriminazione. Si chiama NEAR.
Il sito è: more Segnalo che è nata una nuova rivista dell'UNAR con focus sulle discriminazione. Si chiama NEAR.
Il sito è: http://www.retenear.it/
E' uscito qualche giorno fa il numero di marzo.
In allegato un estratto del primissimo numero di febbraio con un mio articolo su identità e rifondazione del diritto.

R. Wong and F. Crawford, “Educating all Children - Without Exceptions"

by Reuben Wong

Op-ed published in 'Today' newspaper (Singapore), 18 July 2011.

While education is one of the most important issues on Singapore’s national agenda, taking up about one-fifth of the... more While education is one of the most important issues on Singapore’s national agenda, taking up about one-fifth of the Government’s annual budget, there is a segment of children — those identified with physical and other disabilities — who fall between the cracks in Singapore’s educational system. The authors argue that we can, and should, build on Singapore’s educational achievements by ensuring that every child is given ample opportunities to reach his or her full potential. This requires that we address the needs of a small but growing number of children with disabilities in Singapore, who require early intervention services.

Reasons to Ban? The Anti-Burqa Movement in Western Europe

by Prakash Shah

This MMG Working Paper 12-09 (Göttingen: Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity) is Co-authored with Ralph Grillo, Emeritus Professor of Social Anthropology at the University of Sussex. Publications include: Pluralism and the Politics of Difference: State, Culture, and Ethnicity in Comparative Perspective, Clarendon Press (1998); editor of The Family in Question: Immigrant and Ethnic Minorities in Multicultural Europe, Amsterdam University Press (2008); co-editor of Legal Practice and Cultural Diversity, Ashgate (2009). Ralph Grillo is a member of the Advisory Group of the Department of Socio-Cultural Diversity of the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity at Göttingen.

During the 2000s, the dress of Muslim women in Muslim-minority countries in Europe and elsewhere became increasingly a... more During the 2000s, the dress of Muslim women in Muslim-minority countries in Europe and elsewhere became increasingly a matter for debate and, in several instances, the subject of legislation. In France, a ban on the wearing of the headscarf
in places of education (2004) was followed in 2010 by the law criminalizing the wearing of the face-veil (usually but inaccurately referred to as the ‘burqa’) in public space. Other countries have enacted similar legislation. Muslim women’s dress has historically been a controversial matter in Muslim-majority countries, too, most recently in North Africa following the Arab Spring, but the present paper concentrates on the movement against face-veiling in Western Europe, documenting what has been happening and analysing the arguments proposed to justify criminalizing this type of garment. In doing so, the paper explores the implications for our understanding of contemporary (ethnically and religiously) diverse societies and their governance.
Is anti-veiling legislation a protest against what is interpreted as an Islamic practice unacceptable in liberal democracies, a sign of a wider discomfort with non-European otherness, or an expression of an underlying racism articulated in cultural terms?
Whatever the reason, is criminalization an appropriate response? An Appendix notes some topics for further research.

In pursuit of the pagans: Muslim law in the English context

by Prakash Shah

Western and Muslim law. Muslim law is itself a complex, pluralistic amalgam of different legal ‘bricks’, and in the... more Western and Muslim law. Muslim law is itself a complex, pluralistic amalgam of different legal ‘bricks’, and in the context of the struggle for Islam to be acknowledged as a legitimate source of value pluralism in the Western context, the religious aspects of Muslim law, with their doctrinal justifications, are being foregrounded. With the English case as the main focus, I further argue that customs among Muslims are suppressed in this process of ‘shariatisation’. Beyond that, even Muslim doctrines are being placed under the spotlight in various ways. These changes are taking place as a result of Muslims living as nondominant communities in Europe, where they are under the gaze of the dominant culture and are judged to be potential or actual violators of human rights and the rule of law. Relying on Balagangadhara’s (2005) explanation of the ‘dynamic of religion’, I present these processes as an outcome of the collision of two religious cultures, the Islamic and the Western.

Discriminação racial e saúde: uma revisão sistemática de escalas com foco em suas propriedades psicométricas (Racial discrimination and health: a systematic …

by Roger Keller Celeste

Youth Justice Reform: Redressing Age Discrimination against Children?

by Simon Flacks

This article considers whether the system of reprimands and final warnings in the youth justice system in England and... more This article considers whether the system of reprimands and final warnings in the youth justice system in England and Wales constitutes age discrimination for the purposes of human rights law. Whilst much youth justice discourse has addressed the use of diversionary measures that steer children away from formal justice processes, little attention has been paid to measures which negatively discriminate against children, in comparison to adults, without reasonable justification. The discussion contextualizes the issue within discourses on the sociology of childhood and youth justice, and considers why there is a general reluctance to recognize children as ‘victims’ of age discrimination.

Inclusive and Accessible Special Event Planning: An Australian Perspective

by Simon Darcy

Darcy, S., & Harris, R. (2003). Inclusive and accessible special event planning: an Australia perspective. Event Management, 8(1), 516-536.

People with disabilities have a right to access the full range of social activities and services available in a... more People with disabilities have a right to access the full range of social activities and services available in a society. Nonetheless, the way that built and social environments are often constructed serves to restrict access of this group to a wide range of activities and hence compromise their rights as citizens. This article looks at how those engaged in the organization of events can facilitate the involvement of people with disabilities in theconferences, festivals, sporting, and other events that they conduct. The article begins by providing a brief overview of selected statistics and legislation associated with disability in Australia. It then looks at the operationalization of event disability planning in Australia through a review of complaint cases made under the Disability Discrimination Act, 1992. The review provides an insight into the current discriminatory practices employed by event and venue managers. The article then presents a “best practice” case study of the Sydney 2000 Olympic and Paralympic Games to show how disability and access issues were incorporated into the event planning and operations processes. The article concludes with some suggestions as to how event and venue managers can better incorporate people with disabilities into their programs.

Keywords
Disabilities Discriminatory practices Accessibility Special event planning Australia

Experiencing discrimination increases risk-taking

by Wendy Berry Mendes