Five decades after Martin Luther King’s historic “I Have a Dream” speech in Washington, D.C., a new survey by the Pew Research Center finds that fewer than half (45%) of all Americans say the country has made substantial progress toward racial equality and about the same share (49%) say that […] Read more »
The Banal, Insidious Sexism of Smurfette
The Smurfs, originating as they did in mid-century Europe, exhibit the quaint sexism in which boys or men are generic people—with their unique qualities and abilities—while girls and women are primarily identified by their femininity. The sequel doesn’t upend the premise of Smurfette. In the original graphic novels, Smurfette (or […] Read more »
15% of Women Feel Unfairly Denied a Promotion
Fifteen percent of U.S. working women say they have at some point felt passed over for a promotion or opportunity at work because of their gender, while 85% say they have never felt that way. These perceptions are similar by age, educational attainment, and employment in a professional or non-professional […] Read more »
Meritocracy or Bias?
… Frank L. Samson, assistant professor of sociology at the University of Miami, thinks his new research findings suggest that the definition of meritocracy used by white people is far more fluid than many would admit, and that this fluidity results in white people favoring certain policies (and groups) over […] Read more »
Racism doesn’t explain why Obama’s approval rating is falling
Does being black cost President Obama support among white voters? We all know that there’s a certain proportion of the electorate that’s not going to support Obama because he’s black. … What needs to be pointed out, however, is that most of Obama’s current approval slide likely isn’t because of […] Read more »
Gender Stereotypes, Candidate Evaluations, and Voting for Women Candidates: What Really Matters?
… We can easily conjure up anecdotal examples of high-level women candidates who have been subjected to criticism and attacks because of their age (too young or too old), appearance (too beautiful or too plain), or family status (whether mothers or childless). … However, look closer and you will see […] Read more »