Discussing Board
Examine the Social Indicators of Black Progress (text section 10.5) and Social Indicators of Women’s Status (text section 13.4) and make a case that racial/sex parity HAS been achieved or has NOT been achieved. Back up your answers with statistical data and facts from the text (be sure to cite section/subsection numbers). Progress and improvement are NOT the same as parity (equality). Focus only on whether parity has or has not been achieved.
No facts from text = 0
No citation for the facts used = 0
Original posting, minimum of 100 words AND at least 1 response to a classmate’s posting (also 100 words, minimum)
Classmate work
Racial and Sex Parity
COLLAPSE
Racial and sex parity have not been achieved. Both minority groups have experienced improvement in certain areas but neither have reached full parity within our society. Education and income are good indicators of this. Education is a good indicator of Black Progress, as the gap in dropout rates among blacks and whites has decreased over the years (Section 10.5.1). From 1970 to 2014, the percentage of black highscool dropouts has decreased by 20.5 (Section 10.5.1). This shows a lessening in the educational gap. However, it is only a lessening of the educational gap. The gap is still there even after this progress has been achieved. The same phenomenon occurs in regards to women’s education; improvements have been made but parity has yet to be achieved. More and more women are getting educated and continuing higher education, but gender-bias and stereotyping that exist in schools still affect women’s quality of education (Section 13.4.1). Since they still face more obstacles than the majority, they can not have achieved full parity.
Income is another way we can determine if true racial and sex parity has been reached. In 2015, the average black family only earned 62 cents to every $1 the average white family earned (Section 10.5.2). If full parity had been achieved, black and white families would have roughly the same median incomes. This is an issue women face as well as a minority group. In 2014, among year-round, full-time workers of the age of 18 and higher, women earned 79 cents for every dollar men earned (Section 13.4.3). In a similar fashion, parity would mean both incomes settle at a 1:1 ratio. However, they do not. True racial and sex parity has not been achieved yet because both minority groups are still experiencing factors that make upward mobility difficult for them within our society. I think we are making good strides towards parity, but realistically we still have a lot to do as a society before racial and sex parity have been achieved.
