Individual Sexism Essay
1. Sexism, in itself, is “a set of beliefs claiming that real or alleged differences between women and men establish the superiority of men (305).” Real differences refer to physical or biological differences and alleged differences refer to just that, alleged claims of superiority. Such as mental or emotional superiority. As with racism, sexism can take two major forms, individual sexism or institutional sexism. Both represent a social problem that women often face in todays society.
Individual sexism refers to sexist actions by an individual or group of individuals towards women. Individual sexism can take the form of verbal, psychical, or psychological abuse (305). An example of individual sexism would be verbally insulting a woman …show more content…
According to the textbook “on the job black women have faced discrimination in hiring and in promotion and have been more vulnerable than other female workers to layoffs and firings (325).” Poor women already have a low access to human capital, such as education. And with low numbers of college graduates among poor black women hiring discrimination takes a harsher toll. Not only are these jobs already scarce, but sex and race discrimination makes them even harder to procure for black women. More affluent black women also face the harsh realities of intersectionality. For example, even though many middle-class black women hold “prestigious jobs, they can be disadvantaged compared to their white counterparts (326).” An example can be found in a study of black female lawyers. It was found, that among this group, more were likely to work “fairly low-paying public-sector jobs (326).” So not only does one’s sex affect their position, but also factors such as race and class play a significant role in conjunction.
3. The concept of intersectionality greatly effects poor immigrant women. They suffer diminished opportunity because they are women, poor, and members of a minority group (332). All factors, that combined, worsen their positions. The specific disadvantages associated with each predicament stack on top of one another, making life difficult for poor immigrant
Individual sexism refers to sexist actions by an individual or group of individuals towards women. Individual sexism can take the form of verbal, psychical, or psychological abuse (305). An example of individual sexism would be verbally insulting a woman …show more content…
According to the textbook “on the job black women have faced discrimination in hiring and in promotion and have been more vulnerable than other female workers to layoffs and firings (325).” Poor women already have a low access to human capital, such as education. And with low numbers of college graduates among poor black women hiring discrimination takes a harsher toll. Not only are these jobs already scarce, but sex and race discrimination makes them even harder to procure for black women. More affluent black women also face the harsh realities of intersectionality. For example, even though many middle-class black women hold “prestigious jobs, they can be disadvantaged compared to their white counterparts (326).” An example can be found in a study of black female lawyers. It was found, that among this group, more were likely to work “fairly low-paying public-sector jobs (326).” So not only does one’s sex affect their position, but also factors such as race and class play a significant role in conjunction.
3. The concept of intersectionality greatly effects poor immigrant women. They suffer diminished opportunity because they are women, poor, and members of a minority group (332). All factors, that combined, worsen their positions. The specific disadvantages associated with each predicament stack on top of one another, making life difficult for poor immigrant