Discrimination Worksheet

Associate Program Material

Discrimination Worksheet

Write a 100- to 200-word response to each of the following questions. Provide citations for all the sources you use.

• What is discrimination? How is discrimination different from prejudice and stereotyping?

Discrimination is the denial of opportunities and equal rights to individuals and groups because of prejudice or other arbitrary reasons. Prejudice and stereotyping relate more to the thought and feelings of people from another race, religion, age, sex and so on. Discrimination is the actual thought and feeling put into action that will directly effect and individual with these types of differences. Discrimination is broken into a few differences. Relative deprivation is the conscious experience of a negative discrepancy between legitimate expectations and present actualities. Absolute deprivation is the minimum level of subsistence below which families or individuals should not be expected to exist. And finally total discrimination is the combination of current discrimination with past discrimination created by poor schools and menial jobs.

• What are the causes of discrimination?

There are many different causes of discrimination and it is seen every day in the world around us. Much of discrimination has to do with a power factor. This is not giving everyone the equal opportunity to succeed or excel. Some of these areas close doors on people without even giving them a fair chance to try. These unfair opportunities can come from an individual who has a personal issue with someone else, it can also be from an institution that sets standards in a school or workplace. Greed is also a big contribution to causes of discrimination for companies to save money or hire only people who which they feel will be a better beneficial fit in top positions. Much of this discrimination is caused by peoples own prejudices that escalate into a much larger consequence for everyone else around them.

• How is discrimination faced by one identity group (race, ethnicity, religious beliefs, gender, sexual orientation, age, or disability) the same as discrimination faced by another? How are they different?

Discrimination is discrimination for everyone involved in the situation. Any way you look at the situation it is an unfair disadvantage for these people. Discrimination still effects each one involved financially, for promotional opportunity, for education, loans, and the list goes on. The differences depend on who specifically the discrimination is upon. For gender, race, age, religion people see differences in the way discrimination is placed on each of them. Some have less options for a larger income or a higher position in the workplace. Various studies over the years show great examples of where disadvantages are for certain individuals. Different races or gender face different levels of discrimination that varies drastically.