Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

African American Men and the Experience of Employment Discrimination

Qualitative Sociology volume 33, pages 1–21 (2010)Cite this article

Abstract

The economic marginalization of African American men has been studied in a variety of contexts, from trade union exclusion, to joblessness, to disparate wages and mobility. Discrimination is often inferred as an influential mechanism, yet seldom directly examined in its own right. Drawing on a unique sample of verified workplace discrimination cases, this article analyzes forms and processes of discrimination that African American men face in employment. Our results denote the prevalence of discriminatory firing, with on-going racial harassment and discriminatory promotional and hiring practices also quite evident. In-depth immersion into case materials highlights the centrality of racial stereotyping and significant discretion on the part of gatekeepers within organizational environments-discretion in the use of “soft skills” criteria to exclude and debilitate mobility, and in selective (or even targeted) use of seemingly neutral organizational policies and sanctions. Moreover, harassment on the job—something that conventional workplace inequality research has overlooked—is quite problematic and well-represented in these data. We conclude by discussing the implications of our results for the conceptualization of inequality reproduction and that pertaining to race, status, and the workplace in particular.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Access options

Buy single article

Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Fig. 1

References

  • Baldi, S., & McBrier, D. B. (1997). Do the determinants of promotion differ for blacks and whites? Work and Occupations, 24, 478–497.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bendick, M., Jackson, C. W., & Reinoso, V. A. (1994). Measuring employment discrimination through controlled experiments. Review of Black Political Economy, 23, 25–48.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bertrand, M., & Mullainathan, S. (2003). Are Emily and Greg more employable than Lakisha and Jamal? A field experiment on labor market discrimination. NBER working paper series. Cambridge: National Bureau of Economic Research.

    Google Scholar 

  • Blalock, H. (1967). Toward a theory of minority group relations. New York: Wiley & Sons.

    Google Scholar 

  • Blau, P. (1964). Exchange and power in social life. New York: Wiley & Sons.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bobo, L. D., & Suh, S. A. (2000). Surveying racial discrimination: Analyses from a multiethnic labor market. In L. D. Bobo, M. L. Oliver, J. H. Johnson Jr. & A. Valenzuela Jr. (Eds.), Prismatic metropolis: Inequality in Los Angeles. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bonilla-Silva, E. (2003). Racism without racists: Color-blind racism and the persitence of racial inequality in the United States. Lanham: Rowman and Littlefield.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bound, J., & Freeman, R. B. (1992). What went wrong? The erosion of relative earnings and employment among young black men in the 1980 s. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 107, 201–232.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Braddock, J. H., II, & McPartland, J. M. (1987). How minorities continue to be excluded from equal employment opportunities: Research on labor market and institutional barriers. Journal of Social Issues, 43, 5–39.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cohn, S., & Fossett, M. (1995). Why racial employment inequality is greater in northern labor markets: Regional differences in white-black employment differentials. Social Forces, 74, 511–542.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coleman, J. W. (2006). The criminal elite: Understanding white-collar crime (6th ed.). New York: Worth.

    Google Scholar 

  • Collins, S. M. (1993). Blacks on the bubble: The vulnerability of black executives in white corporations. Sociological Quarterly, 34, 429–447.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Collins, S. M. (1997). Black mobility in white corporations: Up the corporate ladder but out on a limb. Social Problems, 44, 55–67.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cummings, S. (1987). Vulnerability to the effects of recession: Minority and female workers. Social Forces, 65, 834–857.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • De Coster, S., Estes, S. B., & Mueller, C. W. (1999). Routine activities and sexual harassment in the workplace. Work and Occupations, 26, 21–49.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Donohue, J. J., & Siegelman, P. (1991). The changing nature of employment discrimination litigation. Stanford Law Review, 43, 983–1033.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elliot, J. R., & Smith, R. A. (2004). Race, gender, and workplace power. American Sociological Review, 69, 365–386.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elvira, M. M., & Zatzick, C. D. (2002). Who’s displaced first: The role of race in layoff decisions. Industrial Relations, 41, 329–361.

    Google Scholar 

  • Feagin, J. R. (1991). The continuing significance of race: Antiblack discrimination in public places. American Sociological Review, 56, 101–116.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Feagin, J. R., & McKinney, K. D. (2003). The many costs of racism. Lanham: Rowman and Littlefield.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fix, M., & Struyk, R. J. (eds). (1993). Clear and convincing evidence: Measurement of discrimination in America. Washington: Urban Institute.

    Google Scholar 

  • Foucault, M. (1980). Power/knowledge. New York: Pantheon.

    Google Scholar 

  • Greenhaus, J. H., Parasuraman, S., & Wormley, W. M. (1990). Effects of race on organizational experiences, job performance evaluations, and career outcomes. The Academy of Management Journal, 33, 64–86.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grodsky, E., & Pager, D. (2001). The structure of disadvantage: Individual and occupational determinants of the black-white wage gap. American Sociological Review, 66, 542–567.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Henry, E. G., & Jennings, J. P. (2004). Age discrimination in layoffs: Factors of injustice. Journal of Business Ethics, 54, 217–224.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huffman, M. L., & Cohen, P. N. (2004). Racial wage inequality: Job segregation and devaluation across U.S. labor markets. American Journal of Sociology, 109, 902–936.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hughes, M., & Demo, D. H. (1989). Self-perceptions of black Americans: Self-esteem and personal efficacy. American Journal of Sociology, 95, 132–159.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hunt, M. O. (2007). African American, Hispanic, and white beliefs about black/white inequality, 1977–2004. American Sociological Review, 72, 390–415.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • James, E. H. (2000). Race-related differences in promotions and support: Underlying effects of human and social capital. Organization Science, 11, 493–508.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kaufman, R. L. (1986). The impact of industrial and occupational structure on black-white employment allocation. American Sociological Review, 51, 310–323.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kaufman, R. L. (2002). Assessing alternative perspectives on race and sex employment segregation. American Sociological Review, 67, 547–572.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kalev, A. (2009). Cracking the glass cages: Restructuring and ascriptive inequality at work. American Journal of Sociology, 114, 1591–1643.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kalev, A., Kelly, E., & Dobbin, F. (2006). Best practices or best guesses? Assessing the efficacy of corporate affirmative action and diversity policies. American Sociological Review, 71, 589–617.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kessler, R. C., Mickelson, K. D., & Williams, D. R. (1999). The prevalence, distribution, and mental health correlates of perceived discrimination in the United States. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 40, 208–230.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kimmel, M. S., & Smith, T. (2005). The “reasonable woman” and unreasonable men: Gendered discourses in sexual harassment litigation. In J. E. Gruber & P. Morgan (Eds.), In the company of men: Male dominance and sexual harassment (pp. 143–166). Boston: Northeastern University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kirschenman, J., & Neckerman, K. M. (1991). “We’d love to hire them, but…”: The meaning of race for employers. In C. Jencks & P. E. Peterson (Eds.), The urban underclass (pp. 203–232). Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kluegel, J. R. (1978). The causes and cost of racial exclusion from job authority. American Sociological Review, 43, 285–301.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krieger, N., Rowley, D. L., Herman, A. A., Avery, B., & Phillips, M. T. (1993). Racism, sexism, and social class: Implications for studies of health, disease, and well-being. American Journal of Preventative Medicine, 9, 82–122.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lynn, R., & Mau, W. (2002). Why do black American males earn less than black American women? An examination of four hypotheses. The Journal of Social, Political, and Economic Studies, 27, 307–313.

    Google Scholar 

  • MacKinnon, C. (1979). Sexual harassment of working women. New Haven: Yale University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Maume, D. J. (1999). Glass ceilings and glass escalators: Occupational segregation and race and sex differences in managerial promotions. Work and Occupations, 26, 483–509.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McBrier, D. B., & Wilson, G. (2004). Going down?: Race and downward occupational mobility for white-collar workers in the 1990 s. Work and Occupations, 31, 283–322.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McCall, L. (2001). Complex inequality: Gender, class and race in the new economy. New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moss, P., & Tilly, C. (1996). Soft skills and race: An investigation of black men’s employment problems. Work and Occupations, 23, 252–276.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moss, P., & Tilly, C. (2001). Stories employers tell: Race, skill, and hiring in America. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mueller, C., Parcel, T., & Tanaka, K. (1989). Particularism in authority outcomes: The case of supervisors. Social Science Research, 32, 1–20.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ohio Civil Rights Commission. (2004). About OCRC. Columbus, OH: Ohio Civil Right Commission. Retrieved November 2, 2004 (http://crc.ohio.gov/mission.htm).

  • Pager, D. (2003). The mark of a criminal record. American Journal of Sociology, 108, 937–975.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pager, D., & Quillian, L. (2005). Walking the talk? What employers say versus what they do. American Sociological Review, 70, 355–380.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Park, H., & Sandefur, G. D. (2003). Racial/ethnic differences in voluntary and involuntary job mobility among young men. Social Science Research, 32, 347–375.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parkin, F. (1974). Strategies of social closure in class formation. In F. Parkin (Ed.), The social analysis of class structure. London: Tavistock Publications Limited.

    Google Scholar 

  • Peterson, T., & Saporta, I. (2004). The opportunity structure for discrimination. American Journal of Sociology, 109, 852–901.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reid, L. L. (1998). Devaluing women and minorities: The effects of race/ethnic and sex composition of occupations on wage levels. Work and Occupations, 25, 511–536.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reid, L. L., & Padavic, I. (2005). Employment exits and the race gap in young women’s employment. Social Science Quarterly, 86, 1242–1260.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reskin, B. (2000). The proximate causes of employment discrimination. Contemporary Sociology, 29, 319–328.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reskin, B. (2003). Including mechanisms in our models of ascriptive inequality. American Sociological Review, 68, 1–21.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reskin, B. F., & Roos, P. A. (1990). Job queues, gender queues: Explaining women’s inroads into male occupations. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Roscigno, V. J. (2007). The face of discrimination: How race and gender impact work and home lives. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield.

    Google Scholar 

  • Roscigno, V. J., Garcia, L., & Bobbitt-Zener, D. (2007). Social closure and processes of race/sex employment discrimination. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Sciences, 609, 16–48.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roscigno, V. J., Karafin, D., & Tester, G. (2009). The complexities and processes of racial housing discrimination. Social Problems, 56, 46–69.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Royster, D. A. (2003). Race and the invisible hand: How white networks exclude black men from blue-collar jobs. Berkeley: University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sackett, P. R., DuBois, C. L. Z., & Noe, A. W. (1991). Tokenism in performance evaluation: The effects of work group representation on male-female and white-black differences in performance ratings. Journal of Applied Psychology, 76, 263–267.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shih, J. (2002). …Yeah, I could hire this one, but I know it’s gonna be a problem: How race, nativity and gender affect employers’ perceptions of the manageability of job seekers. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 25, 99–119.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sidanius, J., & Pratto, F. (1999). Social dominance: An intergroup theory of social hierarchy and oppression. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, R. A. (1997). Race, income, and authority at work: A cross-temporal analysis of black and white men (1972–1994). Social Problems, 44, 19–37.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, R. A. (2001). Particularism in control over monetary resources at work: An analysis of racioethnic differences in the authority outcomes of black, white, and Latino men. Work and Occupations, 28, 447–468.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, R. A. (2002). Race, gender, and authority in the workplace: Theory and research. Annual Review of Sociology, 28, 509–542.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, R. A. (2005). Do the determinants of promotion differ for white men versus women and minorities: An exploration of intersectionalism through sponsored and contest mobility processes. American Behavioral Scientist, 48, 1157–1181.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, S. L., & Cloud, C. (1996). The role of private, nonprofit fair housing enforcement organizations in lending testing. In J. Goering & R. Wienk (Eds.), Mortgage lending, racial discrimination, and federal policy (pp. 589–610). Washington, D.C.: Urban Institute.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tomaskovic-Devey, D. (1993a). Gender & racial inequality at work: The sources & consequences of job segregation. Ithaca: ILR.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tomaskovic-Devey, D. (1993b). The gender and race composition of jobs and the male/female, white/black pay gaps. Social Forces, 72, 45–76.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tomaskovic-Devey, D., Thomas, M., & Johnson, K. (2005). Race and the accumulation of human capital across the career: A theoretical model and fixed-effects application. American Journal of Sociology, 111, 58–89.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • U.S. Bureau of the Census. (2000). Population and household economic topics: Ohio quick facts. Washington, D. C.: U.S. Bureau of the Census. Retrieved December 20, 2004 (http://www.census.gov/population/www/index.html).

  • U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). (2004). Employment Statistics (1999 EEO-1 Aggregate Reports). Washington, D. C.: U. S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Retrieved November 2, 2004. (http://www.eeoc.gov/stats/define.html).

  • Vallas, S. P. (2003). Rediscovering the color line within organizations: ‘The knitting of racial groups’ revisited. Work and Occupations, 30, 379–400.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vaughan, D. (1992). The macro-micro connection in “white-collar crime” theory. In K. Schlegel & D. Weisburd (Eds.), White collar crime reconsidered (pp. 124–145). Boston: Northeastern University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Williams, D. R. (1995). Poverty, racism and migration: The health of the African American population. In S. Pedrazza & R. Rumbaut (Eds.), Immigration, race and ethnicity in America: Historical and contemporary perspectives. CA: Wadsworth.

    Google Scholar 

  • Williams, D. R., & Collins, C. (1995). U.S. socioeconomic and racial differences in health: Patterns and explanations. Annual Review of Sociology, 21, 349–386.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams, D. R., & Williams-Morris, R. (2000). Racism and mental health: The African American experience. Ethnicity & Health, 5, 243–268.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, F. D., Tienda, M., & Wu, L. (1995). Race and unemployment: Labor market experiences of black and white men, 1968–1988. Work and Occupations, 22, 245–270.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, G. (1997). Pathways to power: Racial differences in the determinants of job authority. Social Problems, 44, 38–54.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, G., & McBrier, D. B. (2005). Race and loss of privilege: African American/white differences in the determinants of job layoffs from upper-tier occupations. Sociological Forum, 20, 301–321.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, G., Sakura-Lemessy, I., & West, J. P. (1999). Reaching the top: Racial differences in mobility paths to upper-tier occupations. Work and Occupations, 26, 165–186.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, W. J. (1987). The truly disadvantaged: The inner city, the underclass and public policy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, W. J. (1996). When work disappears: The world of the new urban poor. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

    Google Scholar 

  • Xu, W., & Leffler, A. (1992). Gender and race effects on occupational prestige, segregation, and earnings. Gender & Society, 6, 376–392.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Young, I. M. (1990). Justice and the politics of difference. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Young, I. M. (2001). Equality of whom? Social groups and judgments of justice. The Journal of Political Philosophy, 9, 1–18.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the support of the Department of Sociology, Ohio State University, and that of members of the Ohio Discrimination Project. We also thank Randy Hodson, Steve Lopez, George Wilson, the Editor of Qualitative Sociology, Javier Auyero, and three anonymous reviewers for constructive insights and suggestions on an earlier draft.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology, 238 Townshend Hall, 1885 Neil Ave. Mall, Columbus, OH, 43210, USA

    Sherry N. Mong & Vincent J. Roscigno

Authors
  1. Sherry N. Mong
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Vincent J. Roscigno
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sherry N. Mong.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Mong, S.N., Roscigno, V.J. African American Men and the Experience of Employment Discrimination. Qual Sociol 33, 1–21 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11133-009-9142-4

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11133-009-9142-4

Keywords

search

Navigation