Describe what you think are the key disadvantages faced by minority ethnic groups in Britain Evaluate
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Describe what you think are the key disadvantages faced by minority ethnic groups in Britain. Evaluate how sociologists have explained these disadvantages.
The sociology of race is the study of a form of social stratification in which race relations between ethnic groups are constructed around an ideology of imputed racial differences (Abercrombie et al, 2000). Macionis and Plummer describe a racial or ethnic minority as "a category of people, distinguished by physical or cultural traits, who are socially disadvantaged" (1997: 327). In other words distinct from the dominant majority, who, in the case in Britain today are white people. This definition is clear and useful, as it moves away from the quite separate biological one of 'race' people that share biologically similar traits that society has deemed socially significant, and the shared cultural history definition of 'ethnicity (Macionis & Plummer, 1997: 323-4). In 1991, 5.5% of the population of Great Britain were ethnic minorities, including black communities, South Asian communities and others such as Chinese. It may be said that there are a number of disadvantages that ethnic minority groups face in Britain today, with issues such as education, employment, policing and housing being key areas of concern. These overall can be separated into three categories; the economic, social and political dimensions, all intrinsically linked and acting alongside each other...