Racial Discrimination in Occupations Perceived and Actual

Abstract

TrfHE MAJOR PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY is to determine the relationship between the actual representation of blacks in certain important occupations and individual perceptions of discrimination against blacks in those same occupations. That is, we are attempting to relate the perceived occupational opportunity structure to the real occupational opportunity structure in American society. Occupational opportunity structure refers to the openness of availability of various occupations to individuals possessing certain characteristics which are, in fact, differentially distributed among various occupations. In this study individual perceptions (i.e., subjective ratings) of the difference that race makes in the opportunity to enter various occupations were measured. These ratings were then correlated with the actual percentage of blacks in those same occupations, according to census reports. In a previous report using the data upon which this paper is based, we found that black university students perceived significantly more occupalional discrimination against black people than did white students; there were no significant sex or social class differences.' That black students perceived more racial discrimination than did white students, however, reveals nothing about the accuracy of these perceptions. The black students, for example, may have overestimated the degree of occupational discrimination. It is important to assess the accuracy of such perceptions because sensitivity to discrimination may have important personality and behavioral consequences.2