How far do sociologists believe that ethnicity is the most important influence on life chances?
Life chances are the likelihood of obtaining assets defined as desirable and of avoiding those defined as the opposite. This includes the odds of acquiring things such as good quality housing, good health, a sturdy profession and educational success; it also means avoiding pitfalls such as ill health and unemployment. Ethnicity is the shared culture of a social group, which gives its members a common identity in some ways different from other groups. This refers to the common culture of a social group, such as language, religion, styles of dress, food, shared history and experiences. To a certain extent sociologists believe that ethnicity is the most important influence on life chances however, there are key themes such as gender and class which both have a substantial impact on life chances also.
Within gender, it is seen that men have better life chances than that of women in terms of employment and wealth; it is evident that there are a higher percentage of men in high paid professional jobs. However statically, in terms of class, the higher you are, the better your life chances. Children who grow up in middle class households generally have better healthcare, higher chances of educational success and financial backing, which often leads to better employment and future prospects.
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Nevertheless, ethnicity evidently still plays a critical role in life chances. Ethnic groups such as Blacks and Asians are still penalized in today’s society, distinctively in employment and educational success. African-Caribbean, Pakistani and Bangladeshi people are less likely to secure the best jobs. These groups are under-represented in non-manual occupations, particularly in managerial and professional work. They are over-represented in semi skilled and unskilled manual occupations and are more likely to work longer and more unsociable hours (shift and night work).
What’s more is that they generally have the same qualifications or more than their white counterparts.
Also amongst the younger generations of ethnic minorities, employment has always been mediocre although this has, in recent times decreased severely maybe due to the deceptive coverage and disproportionate representation of ethnic minorities, predominantly Black youths looting shops and causing violence in the 2011 England riots. Since then, both case studies and government statistics suggest that half of Black 16-24 year olds face a tougher time in the job market, failing to gain employment in Britain.
Many children from ethnic minority backgrounds tend to do as well as and often better than many white children. For example, Indian Asians –particularly girls- are more likely to get better GCSE and A-level results, to stay in education post-16 and to enter university than many white students. However those of Pakistani and Bangladeshi origin and particularly males from African-Caribbean ethnicity, tend to do less well than they should given their ability. Underachievement in Pakistani, Bangladeshi and African-Caribbean students can be caused by racism of teachers and pupils, a negative self-image and poor motivation, a language barrier and/or deprived social conditions.
In conclusion, it would seem that sociologists consider that both ethnicity and class weigh up to 50/50 in terms of influencing life chances. Education forms the basic foundations of a person’s future and it would seem that your ethnicity and class could either help or hinder you in the laying of these foundations. A middle class Black, White or Asian student would generally achieve better educational success than a working class counterpart who probably doesn’t have the same materialistic factors or social conditions at home. Following that, if two people apply for a job and they have both have the same qualifications, their ethnicity shouldn’t affect the boss’ decision but more often than not, it does.
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