Racial Stereotypes
Racial stereotypes and discrimination have hindered the ability of minorities to attain success for years. These typecasts give entire races certain characteristics and personality traits that ultimately hurt the individuals chance at success such as obtaining a job, having a significantly lower annual income, and they have a much higher chance of falling victim to police brutality. All of these effects can greatly influence one’s chance and opportunity for success. These stereotypes may categorize an entire ethnicity as “lazy”, “troubled”, and/or “violent”. Because of this, hiring managers, officers of the law, and everyday citizens see individuals belonging to a minority and prematurely and subconsciously create a misconception of them.
…show more content…
For example, the African American unemployment rate is 11.4 percent which is more than twice the rate for Caucasians at a meager 5.3 percent. People often assume certain races are lazy or disrespectful before they personally get to know the employee. Subconsciously, hiring managers and other employees discriminate against people of another race because they give them predominantly negative personality traits and characteristics. For example, The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that in 2011, Caucasians made up eighty percent of the work force; whereas African-Americans made up a mere twelve percent, followed by Asians at only five percent. Another example of racial discrimination is shown through annual income. For instance, African American men that work full time and year round have merely 72 percent of the average earnings of white men that work full time and year round. This shows that there is clearly a correlation between race and income. This is commonly referred to as a “wage gap”. For African American women versus Caucasian women, the ratio is eighty-five