Social Science ยท Civics Polity

Social Inequality and Discrimination

1,938 Questions

Social inequality and discrimination involve the unequal distribution of resources and opportunities based on race, class, or gender. These concepts are frequently tested in UPSC, state PSC, and SSC exams. Practicing these questions helps clarify key sociological theories and structural challenges.

Environmental racism conceptsRacial prejudice strategiesWorkplace discrimination policiesMedia representation issuesSocial equality principles

Social Inequality and Discrimination Questions

Multiple choice

Which concept refers to the idea that racial and ethnic groups have distinct histories, experiences, and perspectives that shape their understanding of the world?

  1. Cultural Relativism

  2. Social Darwinism

  3. Racial Essentialism

  4. Intersectionality
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Cultural relativism emphasizes the importance of understanding cultural practices and beliefs within their own cultural context, recognizing that different cultures have different values and norms.

Multiple choice

What is the term used to describe the practice of allocating political representation to different caste groups based on their historical grievances and social disadvantages?

  1. Caste quotas

  2. Caste reservations

  3. Caste-based affirmative action

  4. Caste-based compensatory representation
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Caste-based compensatory representation refers to the practice of allocating political representation to different caste groups based on their historical grievances and social disadvantages. This aims to address the legacy of discrimination and exclusion faced by marginalized caste groups and promote their political empowerment.

Multiple choice

What is the term used to describe the disproportionate representation of racial and ethnic minorities in the juvenile justice system?

  1. Racial profiling

  2. School-to-prison pipeline

  3. Disparate impact

  4. Implicit bias
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

The school-to-prison pipeline refers to the systemic factors that push students, particularly those from marginalized communities, from schools into the juvenile justice system.

Multiple choice

What is the term for the fear or hatred of foreigners?

  1. Xenophobia

  2. Ethnocentrism

  3. Chauvinism

  4. Jingoism
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Xenophobia is the fear or hatred of foreigners.

Multiple choice

How does environmental racism manifest in the disproportionate exposure of marginalized communities to environmental hazards?

  1. By promoting economic growth in disadvantaged areas.

  2. By advocating for stricter environmental regulations.

  3. By ensuring equal access to environmental resources.

  4. By siting polluting industries in minority neighborhoods.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Environmental racism refers to the disproportionate exposure of marginalized communities to environmental hazards, such as air pollution, toxic waste, and hazardous facilities, often due to systemic racism and discrimination.

Multiple choice

Which of the following is an example of how science and technology can be used to promote racial equality?

  1. Developing new technologies that can be used to reduce racial profiling and discrimination

  2. Creating new technologies that can be used to promote access to education and employment for people of color

  3. Using social media to raise awareness of racial inequality issues

  4. All of the above
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

All of the above are examples of how science and technology can be used to promote racial equality.

Multiple choice

What is the term for the practice of denying someone housing based on their race or ethnicity?

  1. Housing discrimination

  2. Redlining

  3. White flight

  4. Gentrification
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Housing discrimination is the practice of denying someone housing based on their race or ethnicity. It can take many forms, including refusing to rent or sell a home to someone, charging them a higher rent or price, or steering them to a different neighborhood.

Multiple choice

What is the term for the practice of lending money to people based on their race or ethnicity?

  1. Predatory lending

  2. Redlining

  3. White flight

  4. Gentrification
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Predatory lending is the practice of lending money to people based on their race or ethnicity. It often involves charging high interest rates and fees, and it can lead to foreclosure and displacement.

Multiple choice

Which racial group in the United States has the lowest life expectancy?

  1. White

  2. Black

  3. Hispanic

  4. Asian
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Black Americans have the lowest life expectancy among all racial groups in the United States.

Multiple choice

What is the term used to describe the unequal distribution of health risks and outcomes across different racial and ethnic groups?

  1. Health equity

  2. Health disparities

  3. Health inequality

  4. Health justice
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Health disparities refer to the differences in health outcomes and access to healthcare services between different racial and ethnic groups.

Multiple choice

What is the term used to describe the process of identifying and eliminating racial disparities in health outcomes?

  1. Health equity

  2. Health disparities reduction

  3. Racial health equity

  4. Health justice
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Health disparities reduction refers to the process of identifying and eliminating racial disparities in health outcomes.

Multiple choice

What is the term used to describe the disproportionate impact of climate change on marginalized communities?

  1. Climate apartheid

  2. Environmental racism

  3. Climate vulnerability

  4. All of the above.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Climate apartheid, environmental racism, and climate vulnerability are all terms used to describe the systemic inequalities that lead to marginalized communities being disproportionately affected by climate change.

Multiple choice

Which of the following is an example of a policy that can promote ethnic diversity in the workplace?

  1. Affirmative action programs.

  2. Diversity quotas.

  3. Unconscious bias training.

  4. All of the above.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Policies that can promote ethnic diversity in the workplace include affirmative action programs, which aim to increase the representation of underrepresented groups, diversity quotas, which set specific targets for the representation of different ethnic groups, and unconscious bias training, which helps individuals recognize and address their unconscious biases that may lead to discrimination.

Multiple choice

What is the crime of genocide?

  1. The intentional killing of a group of people based on their race, ethnicity, religion, or nationality

  2. The intentional causing of serious bodily or mental harm to a group of people based on their race, ethnicity, religion, or nationality

  3. The deliberate infliction of conditions of life calculated to bring about the physical destruction of a group of people based on their race, ethnicity, religion, or nationality

  4. All of the above
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

All of the above actions are considered genocide under international humanitarian law.

Multiple choice

What is the crime of apartheid?

  1. The systematic segregation and discrimination of one racial group by another racial group

  2. The forcible transfer of population

  3. The persecution of a racial group

  4. All of the above
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

The crime of apartheid includes the systematic segregation and discrimination of one racial group by another racial group, the forcible transfer of population, and the persecution of a racial group.