Wage Discrimination In Prisons

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A social structure is a largely invisible system which coordinates and constrains behavior in broadly predictable ways. It is also the organization of social positions and the distribution of individuals in them. A prison would be an example of a social structure. A prison is comprised of administrators, guards, and prisoners. There is also an elaborate set of rules which govern the relationships between these three “groups” of people. An informal network exists among the prisoners and they divide themselves into different categories. These categories articulate the “jobs” they do in prison. The notion of social structure may initiate systematic biases since it involves many identifiable sub variables such as gender, race, and nationality. …show more content…
Discrimination denies people equal opportunities to achieve socially valued goals such as getting an education, finding employment, accessing health care, and living a long life. There are often obvious salary differences among genders and race groups. Wage discrimination often occurs in the workplace. Wage inequalities occur prominently along race and gender lines. Men earn more than women on average, and Caucasians typically earn more than blacks and Hispanics. LGBT employees continue to encounter discrimination in the workforce. Studies show that anywhere from fifteen-to-forty-three percent of gay, lesbian, and bisexual people have experienced some form of discrimination in the workforce. Eight-to-seventeen percent of LGBT workers report being passed over for a job or being fired because of their sexual orientation. Ten-to-twenty-eight percent received a negative performance evaluation or were passed over for a promotion because of their sexual orientation. Employment discrimination is a lose-lose situation for both the employees who are discriminated against and for the employers who practice these forms of discrimination. For the employees, discrimination often leaves them without an income to support themselves and their families. For the employers, discrimination diminishes overall job performance