Social Indicators of Equality for Minorities and Women - University of ...

Table 3.2 contains the teenage unemploymentrates for the various groups. The social indicator (seealso figure 3.2) compares the teenage rates to theoverall majority male rate. The rates for all thegroups are extremely high, and the minority andfemale groups are especially disadvantaged. Severalof the groups' teenage unemployment rates weremore than five times the rate of majority males in1970 and over eight times that reference point in1976. In virtually every case, the situation worsenedsubstantially during the decade of the 1960s and theneither continued to worsen or remained at anextremely high level in 1976. Unemployment forsome teenage groups reached a level in 1976 thatmeant that a third to one-half of the teenagers whowere actively seeking work were unable to find jobs.The approximate rates for these extremely hard-hitgroups were 35 percent for American Indian/AlaskanNative males, 48 percent for blackmales, 55 percent for Puerto Rican males, 36 percentfor American Indian/Alaskan Native females, 51percent for black females, and 38 percent for PuertoRican females.Occupational PrestigeIn addition to knowing how different the specificunemployment patterns of women and minoritymales are from that of majority males, it is importantto measure whether or not minorities and women aredisproportionately represented in occupations consideredless important, less prestigious, or lesssLloyd V. Temme, Occupation: Meanings and Measures (Washington, D.C.:Bureau of Social Science Research, 1975), p. 184.9 A commonly used wording in the interview situation is for the respondentto be asked:For each job mentioned, please pick out the statement that best givesyour own personal opinion of the general standing that such a jobhas: 1. Excellent standing, 2. Good standing, 3. Average standing, 4.Somewhat below average standing, 5. Poor standing; and category of"I don't know where to place that one."From Delbert Miller, Handbook of Research Design and Social Measurement(New York: David McKay Co., 1964), p. 173.Although it seems unlikely, it is logically possible that the actual types ofoccupations could be quite different even though the occupations are equalin prestige levels. In the scale used in this research, bank tellers andelectricians both have prestige scores of 44, and blasters, powdermen, andfile clerks have scores of 35.10 Temme, Occupation: Meanings and Measures .11 Ibid. The occupational title or category serves as the foundation formeasurement of many trends and characteristics of occupations. Thus,much of the variety of occupational activities and the significance of work isoversimplified and reduced to a category from the beginning. The categoriesare further accumulated to suit the needs of the researcher or agency untilthe desired degree of reduction of detail is accomplished.Although the Department of Labor's Dictionary of Occupational Titles nowcontains about 35,000 specific recognized and defined occupational titlesand thousands of new titles are being added (see U.S., Department ofLabor, Occupations Outlook Handbook, 1976-77 edition), the 1970 censusclassification of occupations contained only 441 occupational categories.The detailed 1970 census classification scheme required 137 pages of threeionadesirable by the rest of society. "Occupationalprestige" reflects the honor or social esteem gene^Pyaccorded to those working in an occupatk^8Measuring occupational prestige requires that numbersof the society evaluate occupationalin terms of relative "social standing." 9prestige scores can be calculated from numericalscores assigned to the evaluations of a large nui^;iof persons. This technique has yielded highly relive(i.e., consistent) prestige rankings of occupationalthe United States as well as in other countries. 10 %The prestige scores utilized here were ada|from a study that generated the scores foroccupational category used by the census. 11prestige scores range from a high of 88 for physicto a low of 1.5 for bootblacks. A few seleJoccupational prestige scores are listed inTwo different indicators have been devekfrom the prestige scores. Each is based on compsthe prestige scores of majority males towomen and minority males. The firstaverage prestige scores of the two groups b^compared, and the second measures the chaprestige for those who changed occupations betw«i1965 and 1970, and therefore describes mobility. Wislatter measure is based on a question asked foi1970 census but not asked in 1960 or 1976. AThe degree of inequality in the prestige scores^anbe clearly indicated by comparing themajority males to the means of the differentDividing a minority or female group's prestige scTTrecolumns each to list the occupations which comprise the 441 categorie^^eeU.S., Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, 1970Population, Classified Index of Occupations and Industries, 1971). Foi 1purposes the 441 categories are further reduced to 12 major catesprofessional, technical, and kindred workers; managers and administers,except farm; sales workers; clerical and kindred workers; craftsmen^nckindred workers; operatives, except transport; transport operatives; ^Brers,except farm; farmers and farm managers; farm laborers and rarrrforemen; service workers, except private household; and private houd"workers.For some purposes these 12 categories are further reduced to 4 (white iblue collar, service workers, and farmworkers). See, for example,'Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Statistical Abstract AUnited States (1976), p. 360, table 581.iThe significance of the issue of classification and reduction goesconcern for detail. With the reduction of categories and the combinoccupations there is danger of misrepresenting the occupational situation.One possible result, for example, is that important differences i^fceoccupational structures of males and females are eliminated whe^^ieoccupations are combined. While it may appear that males and forteshave similar occupations, actually this "equality" is simply an artifaoHPaclassification system that combines divergent occupations.The "professional, technical, and kindred" category is an lmexample. Close examination of this category—which is often u:represent "high status occupations"—reveals a very diverse set oftions with widely varying duties, education, prestige, and income. Nairplane pilots, physicians, dancers, clergymen, recreation workers,therapy assistants, dieticians, and elementary school teachersincluded within the professional category.34