Social Inequality: Examining Experiences in American Society Essay

This essay examines social inequalities in American society by focusing on the experiences of a gay black man and a wealthy white woman. Through interviews, the essay explores disparities in wages, education, and employment opportunities. The essay highlights the different perceptions and experiences of these two individuals, illustrating how factors such as race, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic status contribute to social inequalities. It discusses the challenges faced by the interviewees in accessing quality education, securing employment, and receiving fair wages, providing insights into the systemic issues of discrimination and unequal access. The essay concludes by emphasizing the need for further research and government intervention to address and eliminate these disparities, advocating for a more equitable society.

Running head: SOCIAL INEQUALITY 1
Social Inequalities in the American Society.
Name
Institutional Affiliation

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X
Within any given society in today's world, there exist different groups of people who
share the same characteristics, interests, among other things. However, there can exist social
inequalities due to belonging to such groups, which means that they do not have access to the
same opportunities due to the group they belong to. This essay will examine the different forms
of social inequalities experienced by two separate groups within the American society by
examining their beliefs, perceptions, and experiences in today's world using three factors; wage,
education, and employment.
I carried out my interview on two people belonging to two different societal groups in the
United States that are a gay black man and a wealthy white woman. My interviewees were
Wesley, a 35 year gay black gay man, and Mary, a 35-year-old white lady from the American
upper-middle class. We held our discussions differently, and it was quite interesting to find out
their thought, beliefs, and experiences in the subject of social inequality in terms of employment
opportunities, wages earned, access to, and the quality of education.
In the United States, access to education is a fundamental right; however, there still exist
disparities in terms of who can access it, and even if they do the quality of education they
receive. Wesley held similar sentiments to mine. "I grew up in a primarily black neighborhood
that was poverty-stricken, we attended a school that constantly had armed guards, there was a
metal detector at the school entrance, and every once in a while students would be caught while
attempting to smuggle weapons to school. It was unnerving, and worst of all, there were few
teachers since many refused to teach in such a hazardous school. Even the school facilities were
of poor quality. Most of the parents lobbied for change; however, we were ignored by the school
district as they felt that this was the norm, and anything could change," Wesley said sighing. "It

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was even harder for me since when I was in my teenage years, I realized that I was gay, it was
hard to come out in such a neighborhood, people I had grown up with were suddenly bullying me
making it hard for me to concentrate on my studies," he finished.
In comparison, however, Mary holds the belief that all Americans have access to the
same quality of education since it is a first-world country. She formed her opinion from
sentiments held by her governor, whose perspective is that the whole of America should be
giving its citizens quality education no matter what since they can afford it. "For example, I grew
up in Georgetown, where all the schools were proper everyone got the best education. In my
school, we had students from every race and sexual orientation. Thus I do not see any sense in
saying that there exist disparities in education in terms of education," she said happily. She said
that even her children now attend a school where their demography is mixed, and parents work
hard to ensure that all the kids get access to what they need.
Employment opportunities have become scarce with the changing economic times.
However, even though women in the US have better access to job opportunities, they are mainly
concentrated in a few fields, education, health, trade, transportation, and local governments.
Therefore this shows that either woman holds the belief that this is the only place that they can
get employment or it the view held by society. The black community also faces inequality in
accessing employment opportunities. Wesley gave me his thoughts on this subject; he says that
even though he encountered issues with his education, he never faced any problems in terms of
getting employed. However, his friends who were either gay/ black or both met some resistance
when looking for jobs; one told him that they outright said they could not employ them due to
their sexual orientation, and it was against their beliefs. Whenever anything went wrong in their
place of employment, they would get questioned first because of their color.

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On the other hand, Mary felt that being a woman; she was disadvantaged from the start in
terms of employment since her field of choice is the engineering world. Some of the challenges
she faced due to her gender were; limited job opportunities, being passed over for promotions,
and also being suspected of sleeping her way to her current role as a top manager at her firm. By
being strict and no-nonsense, she was referred to as the ice queen. It is the reality for most
women, even though a higher percentage are educated compared to men showing just how unfair
the job market is for women.
Wages also is another factor that shows the disparities between the genders. Women
nowadays averagely earn 81% of what men earn in the same position; it is an improvement but
not good enough. Mary told me that in her firm, even though she does as much as any man in the
same position, they a bit more. Similarly, many workers in the US receive less pay due to their
sexual orientation, and it is further mad worse if they belong to the black race. Racism and
sexism are still widely spread in terms of wages and employment, even though we are in the 21st
century. Wesley gave me his perspective on this subject; also, he said that there exist few laws
that protect black and the LGBTQ community in terms of employment against unfair low wages,
discrimination, and even firing.
In conclusion, from the findings of my essay, we can see that people from different social
groups experience some form of social inequality, with some being similar or different
experiences. The factors I chose to use were the most common pain points for many of the
groups. Thus the American Government should do further research on this to eliminate the
disparities. My opinion is that any given group can face social inequalities, and this essay has
proven it.

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References