White male
White male is a sociological term used in the United States to describe the demographic that is presumed to dominate the nation's elites and assumed a priori at least among the political left, to face the least discrimination.[1] In 2005 roughly one third of the US population consisted of White males.[2][3] Certain sub-demographics such as homosexual males and those of Middle Eastern ancestry (who are legally white in the USA) as well as those of Latino descent still face some discrimination. In the latter half of the 20th century, discrimination against Catholics has largely ended.[4] Today many catholic and "ethnic" European Americans such as Nancy Pelosi and John Roberts hold high powered public offices with the percentage of Catholic congressmen (29%) being greater than that found in the general population (24%).[5][6] Furthermore the term WASP includes females which have and continue to face discrimination independent of racial or ethnic background.[1] Such observations are based on quantitative studies and rely on macro-research. Life chances are largely the result of socio-economic status and many non-white males may enjoy greater material prosperity than some white males.
Prosperity and status
Due to experiencing lesser discrimination in the past, white males faced less resistance when moving up the economic ladder. White males have been shown to be hired and promoted more than female and minority canidates with similar backgrounds, at least in the distant past.[4] Today, however, affirmative action, discrimination from the media, academia, and governmental agencies, the largest employer in America, suggest that in fact, it is white men who are the group most discriminated against, and reviled.
As the largest group, white males continue to dominate the nation's elites, a reflection of the less race-oriented hiring practices in the 1950s-70s, when the current CEOs were coming up in the world. Jewish Americans are more overrepresented in top corporate offices. While Jewish Americans constituted only 2.5% of the US population, 7.7% of corporate board seats were held by Jewish Americans.[7] [8][9] Both Asian and Jewish Americans combined only constitute 6% of the US population. Additionally those who hold high-rung elected offices such as Congressmen, Senators and the President tend to be European-American, heterosexual and Christian. There is considerable discussion of the extent to which being a White Christian male may affect one's life chances, especially in light of the socio-economic success of Asian Americans. European-American males with a heterosexual orientation continue to dominate the demographic composition of the US congress and the nation's boardrooms and may continue to face enhanced life chances.[1]
Income
- In 2005 the median gross income for an American in the labor force with earnings and above the age of 25 was $32,140 per year.[11]
- The median income for a European-American male (including Jewish Americans) with earnings was $44,154, the highest of any demographic.[12]
- The median personal income for Asian American males, age 25+ with earnings was almost the exact same at $42,359 in 2005.[9]
- Overall White males earned 28% more than the average American and 46% more than non-Hispanic White females.[12][13]
Achievements
White men have made enormous achievements in virtually every field known, including science and technology, engineering, philosophy, sociology, and architecture, to name a few. White men primarily created industrialization (see for example Adam Smith, among others)and the Scientific Method (see Francis Bacon), propelling the entire human race into the modern area from a largely agricultural existence. White men have shared their achievements with the rest of the world to a level that is largely without precedence by any other group of people in recorded history. White men were the last group on earth to practice large scale slavery, and the first to recognize it as an evil, and abolish it. Virtually every advancement in civil rights of the twentieth and twenty-first century were made by the theories and actions of white men.
See also
- Personal income in the United States
- Educational attainment in the United States
- White American
- Racism in the United States
- Angry white male
References
- ^ a b c Thompson, William (2005). Society in Focus. Boston, MA: Pearson. 0-205-41365-X.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ "US Census Bureau, racial breakdown, 2005". Retrieved 2007-01-20.
- ^ "US Census Bureau, gender breakdown, 2005". Retrieved 2007-01-20.
- ^ a b Hine, Darlene (2006). The African American Odyssey. Boston, MA: Pearson. 0-12-182217-3.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ "Catholics in congress". Retrieved 2007-03-07.
- ^ "Religion in the US". Retrieved 2007-03-07.
- ^ "Mother Jones, the Changing Power Elite, 1998". Retrieved 2007-01-20.
- ^ "US Census Bureau, Household income distribution, 2005". Retrieved 2007-01-20.
- ^ a b "US Census Bureau, Personal Income for Asian American males". Retrieved 2007-01-20. Cite error: The named reference "US Census Bureau, Personal Income for Asian American males" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ "US Census Bureau, Personal income forum, Age 25+, 2005". Retrieved 2007-01-20.
- ^ "US Census Bureau, Personal Income distribution, Age 25+, 2005". Retrieved 2007-01-20.
- ^ a b "US Census Bureau, Personal Income of non-Hispanic White Males, Age 25+, 2005". Retrieved 2007-01-20. Cite error: The named reference "US Census Bureau, Personal Income of non-Hispanic White Males, Age 25+, 2005" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ "US Census Bureau, Personal Income distribution for non-Hispanic White females, Age 25+, 2005". Retrieved 2007-01-20.