What is it about?
Racial inequality is routinely seen as hierarchal. What does that mean in practical terms today and how are bodies located. Is it colour, race or nationality based? This article shows clearly who is at the top and who is at the bottom of the racial hierarchy in Ireland. With the underperformance of migrants in modern states increasingly being attributed to a deficiency in migrants and their credentials, the racial stratification framework together with the innovative application of CRT in this article shows how those at the bottom of the economic ladder are susceptible to racial exploitation.
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Why is it important?
Racial inequality is real and undeniable. What this article does is show through the labour market outcomes and differential using three data rich sources, how Ireland is racially organised. It shifts the focus from the individual to the collective and exposes the challenging nature of the bottom of the ladder. This means states have to take responsibility for their roles in perpetuating racial inequality and interventions can be targeted at the areas of need.
Perspectives
I hope this article influences the lenses through which we view racial inequality and contributes the perspectives of Black scholars to the conversation. The stratification framework I have used makes the level of racial injustice in our societies undeniable. It unveils how nationalism and any such concepts are inherently racist. I hope that like the first time I read about racial stratification and I could not stop jumping because it gave voice to my thoughts, I hope this is also empowering for those whose race is located at the bottom of the economic and racial ladder as I have captured in academic spaces their labour market reality.
Ebun Joseph
University College Dublin
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Whiteness and racism: Examining the racial order in Ireland, Irish Journal of Sociology, October 2017, SAGE Publications,
DOI: 10.1177/0791603517737282.
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