Abstract
Sociologists have not attempted to explain the causes of higher levels of perceived job insecurity among racial/ethnic minorities than those of Whites in privileged occupations. This study examines two possible explanations for this finding among White, African American, and Latino professionals and managers. The first emphasizes the discrimination-induced, structural marginality experienced by minorities in the workplace (the marginalized-worker perspective), and the second emphasizes learned dispositions—i.e., fatalism and mistrust—that are brought to the workplace (the dispositional perspective). Using data from the General Social Survey (GSS) and ordered probit regression analyses for both men and women, our findings provide greater support for the marginalized-worker perspective. Results reveal African Americans and Latino men and women have a greater fear of job loss than their White counterparts, regardless of their human capital credentials (e.g., education, work experience) and job/labor market advantages (e.g., job authority, job autonomy, unionized status, favorable market sector). Along these lines, these traditional, stratification-based predictors provide greater insulation from perceived job insecurity for Whites than racial/ethnic minorities. Less support is found for the dispositional perspective: one disposition—fatalism—is associated with greater fear of job loss for African American men and women compared to Whites.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 357-374 |
| Number of pages | 18 |
| Journal | Du Bois Review |
| Volume | 6 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jan 1 2009 |
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Keywords
- Inequality
- Occupations
- Perceived Insecurity
- Race
- Workplace
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Cultural Studies
- Anthropology
- Sociology and Political Science
Cite this
Fear of job loss : Racial/Ethnic Differences in Privileged Occupations. / Wilson, George; Mossakowski, Krysia.
In: Du Bois Review, Vol. 6, No. 2, 01.01.2009, p. 357-374.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Fear of job loss
T2 - Racial/Ethnic Differences in Privileged Occupations
AU - Wilson, George
AU - Mossakowski, Krysia
PY - 2009/1/1
Y1 - 2009/1/1
N2 - Sociologists have not attempted to explain the causes of higher levels of perceived job insecurity among racial/ethnic minorities than those of Whites in privileged occupations. This study examines two possible explanations for this finding among White, African American, and Latino professionals and managers. The first emphasizes the discrimination-induced, structural marginality experienced by minorities in the workplace (the marginalized-worker perspective), and the second emphasizes learned dispositions—i.e., fatalism and mistrust—that are brought to the workplace (the dispositional perspective). Using data from the General Social Survey (GSS) and ordered probit regression analyses for both men and women, our findings provide greater support for the marginalized-worker perspective. Results reveal African Americans and Latino men and women have a greater fear of job loss than their White counterparts, regardless of their human capital credentials (e.g., education, work experience) and job/labor market advantages (e.g., job authority, job autonomy, unionized status, favorable market sector). Along these lines, these traditional, stratification-based predictors provide greater insulation from perceived job insecurity for Whites than racial/ethnic minorities. Less support is found for the dispositional perspective: one disposition—fatalism—is associated with greater fear of job loss for African American men and women compared to Whites.
AB - Sociologists have not attempted to explain the causes of higher levels of perceived job insecurity among racial/ethnic minorities than those of Whites in privileged occupations. This study examines two possible explanations for this finding among White, African American, and Latino professionals and managers. The first emphasizes the discrimination-induced, structural marginality experienced by minorities in the workplace (the marginalized-worker perspective), and the second emphasizes learned dispositions—i.e., fatalism and mistrust—that are brought to the workplace (the dispositional perspective). Using data from the General Social Survey (GSS) and ordered probit regression analyses for both men and women, our findings provide greater support for the marginalized-worker perspective. Results reveal African Americans and Latino men and women have a greater fear of job loss than their White counterparts, regardless of their human capital credentials (e.g., education, work experience) and job/labor market advantages (e.g., job authority, job autonomy, unionized status, favorable market sector). Along these lines, these traditional, stratification-based predictors provide greater insulation from perceived job insecurity for Whites than racial/ethnic minorities. Less support is found for the dispositional perspective: one disposition—fatalism—is associated with greater fear of job loss for African American men and women compared to Whites.
KW - Inequality
KW - Occupations
KW - Perceived Insecurity
KW - Race
KW - Workplace
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=77956349734&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=77956349734&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1017/S1742058X09990221
DO - 10.1017/S1742058X09990221
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:77956349734
VL - 6
SP - 357
EP - 374
JO - Du Bois Review: Social Science Research on Race
JF - Du Bois Review: Social Science Research on Race
SN - 1742-058X
IS - 2
ER -