Chapter 19 Reflections: Earnings and Discrimination

Post three of your "margin notes" from your reading of the chapter to your blog.  Why did you make the comment you made in the margin?  What did you find confusing, useful, or important about the passage you commented on?

Margin note #1: The Beauty Premium. 

More attractive people get paid more, especially in jobs like acting, sales, and service industries. I think this is true initially but once a "pretty" person starts working they also have to prove that they are good at their job. If you are an attractive actor but can't act you'll be playing roles in cheesy horror films or relegated to being an extra, it's highly unlikely that you'll be winning an Oscar anytime soon. I think attractive people might initially get hired because they are good-looking but they too have to put forth the effort into becoming successful in their careers. The not-so-attractive people usually have to rely on their education or great references to get their foot in the door. They have to work harder at getting ahead. If you have model-good looks you may have an easier time getting an interview or the job but looks will fade with time and if there isn't any substance you may  have a hard time keeping that job unless you have proven your worth to the company. 

Margin note #2: Education and Terrorism.

The book talked about the younger the terrorist the less educated that they are likely to be. I guess this section of the chapter caught my eye with the recent bombings at the Boston Marathon just last week. You have two brothers, one who is 19 and the other 26. The news reports focused a lot on their education or lack there of. They were looking for a reason that these two might have done what they did. They want to see if they were educated here in the United States or abroad. Did they go to college? What were they studying? What were their interests? Were they outgoing or introverted? The "Even for Shoe Bombers, Education and Success Are Linked" article written by Austan Goolsbee for the New York Times August of 2006 was very eye-opening. He said that a study that had been done showed that the older and more educated the terrorist the less likely that they would be caught on their mission. "Experience and education improve productivity." Success for terrorists is measured in numbers, numbers killed. There is usually a mastermind behind these plots to hurt so many but there will always be young, impressionable young people who are willing to carry out the wishes of that mastermind. 

Margin note #3: Discrimination in the workplace.

I found it interesting that job-seekers were likely to be discriminated against before they even got a chance to interview for a job. The section labelled, "Is Emily More Employable than Lakisha?" really got my blood boiling. It talked about so-called Equal Opportunity Employers discriminating potential employees just because of the names on their resumes. I never even thought about something like that. I realize that racial discrimination still happens but the staggering 50% more call backs for white names than African-American names just boggled my mind. 

Discrimination doesn't just have to do with racial differences. Whether you're a man or woman, rich or poor, blond or brunette, educated or not there will unfortunately always be some sort of discrimination going on in the workplace. One worker will get paid more and one worker will be paid less.