Opting Out
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A01=Maya A. Beasley
african americans
Author_Maya A. Beasley
black undergraduates
business
career aspirations
Category=JNF
Category=JNM
civil rights legislation
college students
discrimination
economic relations
economy
educational philosophy
educators
elite universities
engineering
eq_bestseller
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
eq_society-politics
finance
highest-paying professions
in-depth interviews
income inequality
labor
lower-paying jobs
lower-status careers
networking
pay gap
personal values
policymakers
racial disparity
social issues
student groups
teaching staff
Product details
- ISBN 9780226040141
- Weight: 340g
- Dimensions: 16 x 23mm
- Publication Date: 01 Nov 2011
- Publisher: The University of Chicago Press
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Paperback
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Why has the large income gap between blacks and whites persisted for decades after the passage of civil rights legislation? More specifically, why do African Americans remain substantially under-represented in the highest-paying professions, such as science, engineering, information technology, and finance? A sophisticated study of racial disparity, "Opting Out" examines why some talented black undergraduates pursue lower-paying, lower-status careers despite being amply qualified for more prosperous ones. To explore these issues, Maya A. Beasley conducted in-depth interviews with black and white juniors at two of the nation's most elite universities, one public and one private. Beasley identifies a set of complex factors behind these students' career aspirations, including the anticipation of discrimination in particular fields; the racial composition of classes, student groups, and teaching staff; student values; and, the availability of opportunities to network. Ironically, Beasley also discovers, campus policies designed to enhance the academic and career potential of black students often reduce the diversity of their choices.
Shedding new light on the root causes of racial inequality, "Opting Out" will be essential reading for parents, educators, students, scholars, and policy makers.
Maya A. Beasley is assistant professor in the Department of Sociology and a member of the advisory board of the Institute for African Studies at the University of Connecticut.
