Multiculturalism And Social Inequality Essay

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Multiculturalism can underpin social inequality. In reaching this conclusion, however, it should be noted that its scope is limited. There are two reasons by which this paper will substantiate this claim.

Firstly, second-generation migrants are not so much constrained by the country’s ideals of multiculturalism as much as their predecessors were. Rather, their unjust circumstances tend to be a reflection upon their educational achievements (Greig, A, Lewins, F & White, K 2003, pp. 124 - 128). As the study conducted by Giorgas (2000) demonstrates, there are marked generational differences in terms of labour-market experience between the first- and second-generation migrants. Generally speaking, the study revealed that the second generation have moved away from the bottom end of the labour market and towards professional categories which is more consistent with their level of education (Giorgas, D 2000, p. 94). As Australian-born children of migrants, often with higher levels of education than their parents, second-generation migrants
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Having been structured upon the expectations and values of an Anglo-Celtic core, the contemporary definition of multiculturalism does indeed become a modality by which social inequality is perpetuated (Jakubowicz, A, 2006; Peace, A 2015). Such a power differential seemingly impacts Indigenous Australians and newly-arrived migrant communities the most. In arriving at this conclusion, however, it should also be noted that there is no single cause for social inequality (Greig, A, Lewins, F & White, K 2003, pp. 123 – 124; Habibis, D & Walter, M 2015). In other words, the dimensions of social inequality are multifaceted, and thus truly holistic accounts of social inequality in terms of multiculturalism are inseparable from discussions other social determinants such as race, class and even personal

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