Week
1: CheckPoint - Defining Minority Group
A minority group in where a group of individuals has a
disproportionately small share of power and resources in contrast to
another group (Haeley, p.10).
Wagley and Harris use the following criteria for defining a minority group:
1.There is a pattern of disadvantage both in power and resources (Haeley, p.10)
2.There is a visible difference that differentiates this group (Haeley, p.10).
3.The group is aware of their differences (Haeley, p.10-11).
4.Membership in the group is defined by an innate characteristic that
the individual possessed when they were born (Haeley, p.10).
5."Members tend to marry within the group" (Haeley, p.10).
Minority groups tend have either less access or lower quality when it
comes to important resources such as education, health care, housing,
and food (Haeley, p.25). By defining minority groups, and those
within that group, to initially be aware of the difficulties that they
face. After the assessment of the difficulties business, social,
and legal policies can be made to better address the minority groups
needs, and to level the playing field.
Females, due in large to the patriarchal system, have a significantly
different roles, and experiences, than their male counterparts.
Due to this Haeley suggests that they need to be evaluated separately,
but with their other minority status in mind, when evaluating how they
think and operate. Haeley contends that this is necessary because
females can frequently have different things in common with other
groups than with their primary minority group (Haeley, p.21).
References
Healey, J. (2003). Race, ethnicity, gender, and class. The sociology of group conflict and change. California: Pine Forge Press.
© Erik Smith 2005
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