Decoding Employment Discrimination

15. To close the earnings gap between blacks and whites would be to reduce the gap in educational achievement. This could be done through 

a. finding ways to improve the performance of schools

1. Discrimination in the labor market arises when

a. workers with the same skill levels—as measured by education, experience, and expertise—receive different pay

b. workers with the same skill levels have different job opportunities because of their race or gender. 

c. both of the above

d. none of the above

2. Gender discrimination in the labor market occurs when

a. employers pay women less than men despite having comparable levels of education, experience, and expertise.

b. employers pay men more than women despite having comparable levels of education, experience, and expertise.

c. both of the above

d. none of the above

3. Racial discrimination in the labor market exists when

a. employers pay racially diverse employees less than their coworkers of the majority race despite having comparable levels of education, experience, and expertise.

b. employers pay racially diverse employees more than their coworkers of the majority race despite having comparable levels of education, experience, and expertise.

c. employers differentiate in pay to their employees on the basis of the origin of the employees.

d. employers differentiate in pay to their employees on the basis of race as well as on the basis of gender.

4. The gains in education and experience have _____________ the female/male wage gap over time.

a. increased

b. reduced

c. equalized

d. enhanced

5. The factors that can lower women’s average wages include which of the following:

a. Women are likely to bear a disproportionately large share of household responsibilities.

b. A mother of young children is more likely to drop out of the labor force for several years or work on a reduced schedule than is the father.

c. In the United States, childless women with the same education and experience levels as men are typically paid comparably.

d. all of the above

6. ___________________is partially responsible for the narrowing of the gap in black–white earnings in the late 1960s and into the 1970s.

a. The Civil Rights Act of 1964

b. The Civil Rights Act of 1966

c. The Equal Opportunity Act of 1970

d. None of the above

7. One study shows that white and black college graduates have identical salaries immediately after college; however, the racial wage gap widens over time, an outcome that suggests the possibility of 

a. declining discrimination.

b. continuing discrimination.

c. persistent racial discrimination

d. evolving discrimination

8. Discrimination in the housing market connected to employment discrimination in the following forms:

a. realtors show black homebuyers 18 percent fewer homes compared to white homebuyers.

b. realtors show Asians are shown 19 percent fewer properties. 

c. Hispanics experience more discrimination in renting apartments and undergo stiffer credit checks than white renters.

d. all of the above

9. The lower levels of education for black workers can also be a result of discrimination. It may be a form of:

a. pre-labor market discrimination

b. direct discrimination by employers in the labor market

c. both a and b

d. only a

10. Gary Becker, who won the Nobel Prize in economics in 1992, was one of the first to analyze discrimination in economic terms, concluded that:

a. discrimination has consequences for people being discriminated against, as well as for the people engaged in it.

b. over time black workers would be pushed out of places where discrimination was prevalent and disproportionately work where discrimination was least evident. 

c. greater competition would act as a strong force in reducing labor-market discrimination.

d. all of the above

11. Public policy steps against discrimination in the labor market include:

a. The Equal Pay Act of 1963

b. The Civil Rights Act of 1964

c. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967

d. All of the above

12. ________________is the name given to active efforts by government or businesses that give special rights to minorities in hiring and promotion to make up for past discrimination.

a. Affirmative action

b. Promotive action

c. Positive discrimination

d. Affirmative discrimination

13. Which law forbids employment discrimination because of "pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions?"

a. the Gender Equality Act of 1978

b. the Gender Equality Act of 1968

c. the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978

d. the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1968

14. Probably the single largest step that could be taken at this point in U.S. history to close the earnings gap would be 

a. to reduce the employment discrimination

b. to reduce the gap in educational achievement.

c. to generate sufficient employment opportunities in the economy

d. to enact laws to prevent discrimination at workplace.