Tyler Hamilton

English 102

Professor Wynne

Literature Review

One of the biggest issues that America faces today is providing equality to all of its citizen

regardless of their gender, race, religion and age. The country is flawed with variations of

inequality and as a result there's an uproar of conflict. One of the most infamous forms of

inequality occurs in the work system. Inequality in the workplace is deeply rooted in the

Americas history. If America can effectively answer these question and put plans into action than

improvements can be made to decrease the amount of inequality and demolish a lot of issues that

exist within the workforce.

Where did Occupational Inequality begin

What steps is America taking to improve equality of working conditions and are

they working?
What is the universal definition of occupational inequality?

Where did Occupational Inequality begin?

Some would argue that inequality in the workplace dates all the way back to

sharecropping. Sharecropping was originally a form of agriculture in which a landowner allows a

tenant to use the land in return for a share of the crops produced on their portion of land. This

concept got misconstrued and turned into a new form of slavery during the reconstruction of

America after slavery was abolished. Sharecroppers were allegedly tricking slaves back into

slavery by having slaves they knew could not read sign contracts for sharecropping that

eventually lead them into a cycle of debt to where they were eternally indebted to their owners.
Or even before that with the idea that slavery was a form of inequality in the workplace because

slaves were stolen from their homelands and forced on a voyage against their will to America.

Once they arrived in America they were forced to work long hours, in extreme conditions as well

as possibly being mistreated by their owners. Mistreatment back then included beatings, rape and

involuntary trading of slaves which lead to the separation of families and loved ones. Others

would say that inequality in the workplace originated with the woman and them not being seen

as equals to men. For a long period of time women were not even allowed to work and were

expected to stay at home and take care of household chores in addition to raise the children.

Once women were allowed to work they were forced to work domesticated jobs in extreme

working conditions and were frequently paid lower salary than men even if they shared the same

job title. No matter which one you believe to be true the main point is that inequality in the

workplace based on gender or race/ethnicity still exist which means America still hasn't

effectively found a way to fix the mistakes of its past.

What steps is America taking to improve equality of working conditions and are they?

One way of combating inequality in the workplace is the formation of labor unions.

Labor unions are: an organized association of workers, often in a trade or profession, formed to

protect and further their rights and interests. A huge factor in why labor unions are resourceful

for eliminating occupational inequality is the idea of collective bargaining. Collective bargaining

is what gives workers the power to negotiate for more favorable working conditions and other

benefits by creating an intermediary between employees and the business that employs them.

Besides unions there are other organizations that help fight against inequalities in the workplace.

For example the National American Woman's Suffrage Association more commonly known as

NAWSA was one a strong protector of equal rights for women in the workplace since their
official formation in 1890 (Crawford, 2003). There have been a few improvements in gaining

equality in the workforce such as the companies that signed to TAR known as Think, Act,

Report which is an organization that partners with companies to help them improve the equality

rate. Statistics from TAR include; 66% of companies are doing more to encourage female talent

within their company since signing up to TAR, 48% of companies have completed an equal pay

audit in the last year demonstrating their commitment to tackling the gender pay gap (Swinson,

2013). But most will argue that there is still a long road ahead and more problems to be corrected

as the graph below describes.

.
What is defined as inequality in the workplace?

Inequality in the workplace is defined as the unequal treatment of people based on

gender, sexuality, height, weight, accent, or race in the workplace. Racial inequality in the

workplace isn't always an issue of simply who is and isn't hired it can also be about who is

promoted and who is able to move into positions of power. Discrimination may not always be

obvious, as it can take on forms that appear fair in practice but have disparaging effects on

minorities within the workplace, or even the industry. Discrimination limits employees in their

access to superior positions and their career advancement. Robert Shea has the most effective

quote to describe inequality in the workplace by stating: A permanent division of labor inevitably

creates occupational and class inequality and conflict.

 Bibliography

Rhode, D. L. (1988). Occupational inequality. Duke Law Journal, 1988(6), 1207-1241.

Carlson, S. M. (1992). Trends in race/sex occupational inequality: Conceptual and measurement

issues. Social Problems, 39(3), 268-290.

Dale, A. (1987). Occupational inequality, gender and life-cycle. Work, Employment & Society,

1(3), 326-351.

Swinson, J. (2013). Over 140 companies commit to improving gender inequality in the workplace.

Gov.Us.

Mann, S. A. (1989). Slavery, sharecropping, and sexual inequality. Signs: Journal of Women in

Culture and Society, 14(4), 774-798.

Zuczek, R. (Ed.). (2006). Encyclopedia of the Reconstruction Era: MZ and primary documents

(Vol. 2). Greenwood Publishing Group.

McCammon, H. J., Campbell, K. E., Granberg, E. M., & Mowery, C. (2001). How movements win:

Gendered opportunity structures and US women's suffrage movements, 1866 to 1919. American

Sociological Review, 49-70.

Crawford, E. (2003). The women's suffrage movement: A reference guide 1866-1928. Routledge.