Blog #10-Alex Plummer

The following article communicates the importance of worldwide education for primary school age children by 2015. Of this segment of children, 61 million are not in school and half of them are living in only 8 countries. These countries include Bangladesh, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Haiti, India, Nigeria, Yemen, and South Sudan. The dismal amount of educated youths is being attributed to the factors of inequality such as where they live, poverty, conflict, gender and ethnicity. But factors differ for each country and some have made progress in changing their educational systems. In most low-income countries, more boys than girls attend school. But thanks to a cash stipend program for girls, Bangladesh has begun to see a larger female population in their schools. In Nigeria the chance of children entering or completing primary school depends greatly on their residence and the wealth of their family. Nigeria has the world’s highest number of out-of-school children, amounting to 10 million. Statistics from 2008 reveal that in northeastern Nigeria almost three-quarters of the poorest children aged 7 to 16 had never been to school, while almost every affluent child had. Factors of regional conflict have a great affect on children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In regions of conflict, the richest children have a similar chance of going to school as those in the major city of the Congo. But 1-in-3 of the poorest children has never been to school and girls make up 44% of those children. The author believes that the ministers of finance need to work together with ministers of education in order to mend these disparities.

Education worldwide needs great improvements and the poorest people in each society are suffering the most when it comes to education. I do agree with the author in the sense that renovating the educational system takes the resources and skills of various governmental parties. Income inequality obviously places the largest role in the division of who receives an education through school and who doesn’t.

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/pauline-rose/inequality-education_b_3106557.html

Blog #9-Alex Plummer

                        The following article highlights the vast inequalities that occur between affluent and less-privileged university students. The author states that large state universities have failed to create social mobility and put too much emphasis on students who come from more privileged backgrounds. Research conducted for the book, “Paying for the Party: How College Maintains Inequality,” followed 53 women at the start and end of their college career.  Few of the women from less-privileged backgrounds realized their dreams of mobility, while the majority from privileged backgrounds remained ready to reproduce their parent’s wealth. This article is quite relevant to our studies of education this week and reflects a major societal problem. This major issue reflects the alleged benefits and success, provided and promised to individuals through a college experience. The university under discussion in this article supported a strong party pathway, a social and academic infrastructure with a powerful Greek party scene. Said pathway adapted to the interests of socially oriented and out-of-state students. These out-of-state students were the major segment the university catered too because of their affluent background. This one view of a single university reflects the large occurrence of massive cuts to state and federal funding all over the nation. Many large state universities have been force to raise tuition and recruit students from out-of-state who can pay. The authors of the book previously mentioned, suggest eliminating the Greek system in schools and empowering other student groups. This could potentially increase student mobility for first-generation students and minorities. Income inequality is increasingly affecting numerous aspects of people’s lives. Personal betterment through higher education is becoming harder to accomplish. Even though there are scholarships and resources such as financial aid to assist low-income families, once students graduate they are riddled with debt and face a difficult job market. Due to these factors many young adults are all together losing interest in attending or finishing college.

http://www.mercedsunstar.com/2013/04/09/2933969/book-featuring-uc-merced-examines.html

Multidimensional Inequality-Alex Plummer

The following article refers to the many forms of inequality that trouble the world beyond income inequality. While income inequality is a major issue within society, many other critical inequalities go unaddressed. The author, Evan Soltas, believes that if social division is on so many people’s minds than these other aspects of inequality need to be addressed. Soltas states that inequality is multidimensional, environmental, and most importantly intergenerational. There seems to be more discussion on income inequality in the news and in government than talk on unequal rights and policies that affect whole communities. In regards to education young adults are more likely to be high school dropouts if their fathers were. And only three times as likely to graduate college if their fathers did. The focus on income inequality is far more common because the government can redistribute income and alter taxes.

The article attributes multidimensional inequalities to various forms of public policy. For instance the Anti-drug Abuse Act of 1986, resulted in a large increase of incarcerated adults; greatly impacting the social dynamic of communities. Soltas considers criminal justice and education reform to be the most powerful weapon against inequality. He also states that rehabilitation without incarceration is the best policy for non-violent drug offenders. Soltas is right in recommending a change in these public policies and lowering the number of non-violent individuals locked up. Not only is it a waste of money to lock up non-violent individuals but also the extensive damage done to families and communities is immense. The lose of a parent, due to imprisonment, has a colossal affect on a child’s life and can potentially lower the likely hood of their future success. The U.K. is currently bettering their school systems by finding more advantageous ways to monitor teacher’s performance and allocating more independence in their teaching structure.  Public policy has the greatest ability in altering and correcting societal inequalities. 

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-04-02/tax-increases-alone-won-t-solve-inequality.html

Job inequality for the LGBTQIA community.

This article is in reference to the overall state of LGBTQIA rights within our country. Specifically the 29 states where it’s legal for employers to fire someone for their sexual orientation. And even more specifically about a man in Mississippi that was fired once his employer found out about his private life. Andre Cooley is a state employee working at a juvenile corrections center as a corrections officer. In the summer of 2010, Cooley made a 911 call while at the time his then boyfriend was displaying violent behavior. One of the officers who answered the call was Cooley’s work colleague. This incident resulted in Cooley’s bosses at the Forrest County Sheriff’s Office to learn of his sexual orientation. Three days later he was fired. The county sheriff claims it wasn’t for that reason but instead because there had been multiple domestic dispute calls from his residence. The County Sheriff, Billy McGee, also declined to comment on the fact that Cooley claimed a supervisor directly told him he was being let go because he was gay. Cooley sued the county for his job back on the grounds that he should be protected under the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution as a government employee. Cooley received a financial settlement, his position back as a Corrections Officer, as well as the institution of an anti-discrimination policy from the county.

Gay rights are not only an issue within our country but also a global issue. Much progress has been made in the way of gay marriage but legal and social equalities are still few and far between. Many believe we live in a progressive world where job discrimination based on ones sexual orientation or gender identity is illegal, when in fact it is legal in 29 states. Ones right to work and make a living for themselves is overshadowed by their personal lives. It is extremely staggering to think of the countless human rights those of the LGBTQIA community are refused in the states, as well as worldwide. 

http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/22/opinion/sutter-employment-discrimination-lgbt/index.html?hpt=hp_c2

Blog 6: Gender Inequality in Fields of Science-Alex Plummer

This article discusses the lack of women in science-based careers and the factors that drive women away from them. While there have been gains for women within the science and engineering realm in recent years, they still face many challenges. The article states that within the United States women earn around half of the doctorates in science and engineering, but only make up 21% of full-time science professors and 5% of full-time engineering professors. Also, in these positions they earn an estimated 82% of what their male counter parts make in the U.S.

There is a large difficulty within universities in enticing a greater number of women to enter and STAY in sciences. Early on in stages of science fields’ qualified women are dropping out. These highly capable women are simply leaving their initial ambitions behind because they don’t feel welcome, supported, and have few women to look up to in similar careers. The article states that differing levels of family values contribute to the gender gap. UK chemistry students viewed research fields as such time consuming activities that it wouldn’t work well with raising a family. I study from the University of California; Berkeley found that both male and female postdocs without children are equally as likely to decide against research careers at a rate of 20%. But female postdocs, who later became parents or planned to be, abandoned research careers up to twice as often as men in similar situations. In order to appeal to more mothers many universities have established child-care assistance and extended tenure clocks for new parents. The gender roles placed on our society are perpetually evident. Many women feel like they must sacrifice their careers in order to raise a family while men don’t feel that’s necessary. Women are dominantly seen as the caregivers and the ones responsible for the houses upkeep.

Women looking to further their career path in the sciences are faced with biases from not only men but women. Yale University microbiologist Jo Handelsman asked 127 professors of biology, chemistry, and physics at six different US universities to evaluate two fictitious college students for a laboratory manager position. The data uncovered that overall the professors would offer the female candidate less than her male peer with the same credentials. As well as be more likely to mentor the male candidate. Even if these biases are unconscious ones, it’s still overwhelming to think professional women are holding back the development of other women. But it could also be that these professors felt intimated by their male colleagues presence if any of them were stationed in the same room. In fact a survey distributed by the American Association for the Advancement of Science concluded that out of 1,300 responses, 52% of women said they’d encountered gender bias during their careers, while just 2% of men stated they had. Other findings have shown females outperforming males in getting interviews and job opportunities.

Finally the article discusses salary inequalities. In the EU, female scientists earned on average between 25% and 40% less than their male colleagues in 2006. Within the US the average gap is smaller but there is a large variation in fields of physics and astronomy, where women earn 40% less than men. But as the article previously stated, there are changes occurring within this gap. Women who have higher positions as science and engineering professors still have a smaller pay gap but there is little difference between junior faculties. 

http://www.nature.com/news/inequality-quantified-mind-the-gender-gap-1.12550