UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS AND SPECIAL POPULATIONS

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UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPSAND SPECIAL POPULATIONS
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VOCABULARY

• Stereotyping Generalization of attributes to
  all members of a group without regard to truth or
  variations due to individual differences.
• Discrimination Treatment or consideration based
  on group membership rather than individual merit.
  
• Prejudice Pre-judged beliefs against a group
  based on stereotypical thinking.
• Bias Leaning towards a particular group based
  on stereotypical thinking.

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RACIAL DIVERSITY

• RACE IS A SOCIOLOGICAL,
• NOT A BIOLOGICAL CONSTRUCT
• There is no gene for race.
• The DNA of any two humans is 99.97 identical.
• We are all related, all connected, all one people.

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CHARACTERISTICS OF UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS

• Identifiable sub-population
• Not necessarily a numerical minority
• Subject to stereotyping
• Discriminatory treatment
• Inequality of power
• Underrepresentation politically and economically
• More accurate terminology
• Dominant/subordinate groups rather than
  majority/minority groups
• Protected classes groups protected against
  discrimination by various federal laws
• Race, color, ethnic origin, gender, age,
  religion, disability

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TYPES OF LEGISLATION

• Equal Opportunity Laws
• Equalize access and opportunities by prohibiting
  discrimination in policies and practices.

• Affirmative Action
• Requires outreach to underrepresented groups to
  compensate for the effects of past
  discrimination. Requires good faith efforts to
  insure participation/inclusion of minorities,
  women, and other underrepresented groups.

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HISTORICAL TREATMENT OF MINORITY GROUPS

• Extermination genocide, ethnic cleansing
• Domination/enslavement
• Expulsion
• Segregation/apartheid
• Assimilation/integration
• Pluralism/multiculturalism
• In the past, the dominant American ideal was
  assimilation. America was the worlds great
  melting pot. Social service workers and
  educators attempted to integrate minority groups
  into the mainstream culture.
• Today the emphasis is on appreciation of
  cultural diversity and pluralism. The presence
  of minority groups and their differing ways of
  life enriches American society.

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THEORETICAL EXPLANATIONS FOR PREJUDICE AND
DISCRIMINATION

• Cultural Transmission Theory/Ethnocentrism
  Prejudice is learned. We internalize our own
  culture which becomes the standard by which all
  other cultures are judged.
• Frustration-Aggression Scapegoating Blaming
  another group for ones own failures.
• Authoritarian Personality Inflexible, rigid
  personality type characterized by adherence and
  obedience to rules and authority, accompanied by
  fear of, and low tolerance for difference.
• Power Theory Competition and exploitation.
  Negative views of subordinate groups justifies
  their unequal treatment and exploitation.

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SUBORDINATE GROUPSAND SELF-IMAGE
We learn who we are from our treatment by
other people. Cooleys looking glass
self Charles Horton Cooley (1902
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• Clark Doll Test
• In testimony used to challenge school
  desegregation in South Carolina, later used in
  the famous U.S. Supreme Court Brown vs. Topeka
  Kansas school desegregation ruling, Dr. Clark
  described the reactions of 16 black girls, aged
  between 6-9 years old, to a choice of white or
  brown dolls
• 10 preferred the white doll
• 11 said that the black doll looked bad
• 9 said that the white doll was the nice one
• His testimony was used as evidence of the harm
  done to a minority childs self-image from
  exposure to the values of the dominant population.

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THE DUAL PERSPECTIVENorton (1978)FORCES
AFFECTING SELF-IMAGE DEVELOPMENT OF SUBORDINATE
POPULATIONS

• Each person is a member of two social
  environments
• The nurturing environment the individuals
  immediate emotional, physical, and social
  environment. Includes family, and sometimes
  neighborhood and neighborhood institutions such
  as church and school.
• The sustaining environment the dominant social
  system in which the individual must interact to
  obtain the necessities of life employment,
  shopping, etc.
• A strong nurturing environment, supporting the
  individuals minority identity and providing a
  strong, positive self-image protects the
  individual from the damaging impact of
  stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination
  encountered in contact with the dominant culture.