Sociology Now, Census Update

the population belonging to ethnic minority groups (Fried-

man, 2006; U.S. Census Bureau, 2004). The upward trends

in minority population, predict a corresponding increase in

racial diversity in the workforce (Table 13.2). Coupled with

increases in women’s workforce participation, this means that

White men may soon become a minority in the workplace.

Racial Diversity

Higher representation does not mean equality in the work-

place. The salaries of people of color consistently lag behind

those of White men. For every dollar that White men earn, Black and Hispanic men

earn 65 cents, Black women 58 cents, and Hispanic women 48 cents. In 2004, 34.9

percent of all of the discrimination cases filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Oppor-

tunity Commission were about race—the proportion has barely budged over the past

decade. Two problems are becoming increasingly common in the racially diverse

workforce—tokenism and the glass ceiling.

When only a few members of a minority group occupy a job, they often believe

(and are treated as if) they were hired as tokens,as representatives of their group rather

than individuals. They are hypervisible: Everything they say or do is taken as what

group members alwayssay or do. If they get angry, for instance, their co-workers will

conclude that everyone in the group gets angry easily. Their failures will be taken as

evidence that the group as a whole is incompetent. Under constant pressure to reflect

well upon their group, tokens must be on guard at all times. They must consistently

outperform their co-workers just to be perceived as equal (Catalyst, 1999; Moss-

Kanter, 1977; Yoder, 1991).

Think about a time when you were the only member of some group in a larger

group. You could have been the only woman or man, White person or person of color,

446 CHAPTER 13ECONOMY AND WORK

Developed

Economies

and

European

Union

Central and

Eastern

Europe

(non-EU)

and CIS

East Asia Southeast

Asia and the

Pacific

South Asia Latin

America

and the

Caribbean

Middle East

and North

Africa

Sub-

Saharan

Africa

PERCENT

100

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

1996 Male 2006 Male 1996 Female 2006 Female

FIGURE 13.6 Labor Force Participation Rates by Sex and Region,

1996 and 2006

Source:From ILO Global Employment Trends Model. Copyright ©International Labour Organization, 2006. Reprinted

with permission.

TABLE 13.2

1995 2005 2020

White, non-Hispanic 76% 73% 68%

Hispanic 9% 11% 14%

African American 11% 11% 11%

Asian-American 4% 5% 6%

Increasing Racial Diversity in the U.S. Labor Force

Source: Workforce 2020: Work and Workers in the 21st Centuryby Richard Judy
and Carol D’Amico, 1997. Reprinted with permission of the Hudson Institute.