Since these differences are generally perceived negatively, this leads to a loss of social and political power for members of minorities. [21] Many contemporary governments prefer to assume that the people they govern are all of the same nationality, rather than people separated on the basis of ethnicity. The United States asks about race and ethnicity on its official census forms, dividing its population and organizing it into subgroups that are primarily racial rather than national. Spain does not divide its nationals according to ethnic groups or national minorities, although it retains an official concept of minority languages, which is one of the criteria for determining a national minority, in accordance with the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities. n. 1) in the vote, one side with less than half of the votes. 2) a term for people in a predominantly Caucasian country who are not Caucasian, including African Americans, Hispanics, Asians, Native Americans (Indians), and others who are so-called “colored,” despite the irony that the majority of the world`s population is not Caucasian. Sometimes the term is used to include women and homosexuals. The term “minority” has a certain patronizing tone, even when used to assert the rights of peoples who have been victims of social or legal discrimination. 3) Life before the age of majority. (See: Adult, Minor, Adult) The term sexual minority is often used by public health researchers to identify a variety of people exhibiting homosexual sexual behavior, including those who do not identify under the LGBTQ+ umbrella.
For example, men who have sex with men (MSM) but do not identify as gay. In addition, the term gender minorities can include many types of gender-variant people, such as intersex, transgender people, or non-binary people. However, the terms sexual and gender minorities are often not preferred by LGBTQ+ people because they represent clinical categories rather than individual identity. [31] The term minority has the following different meanings in law: The above criticism is based on the idea that a group can be considered a minority, even if it includes so many people that it is not numerically a minority in society. Because they are socially separated or separated from the dominant forces of a society, members of a minority group are generally cut off from full participation in the functioning of society and an equal share of society`s rewards. Thus, the role of minority groups varies from society to society, depending on the structure of the social system and the relative power of the minority group. For example, the degree of social mobility of a member of a minority depends on whether the society in which he or she lives is closed or open. A closed society is one in which the role and function of an individual can theoretically never be changed, as in the traditional Hindu caste system. An open society, on the other hand, allows the individual to change roles and benefit from the corresponding changes in status. Unlike a closed society, which emphasizes hierarchical cooperation between social groups, an open society allows different social groups to compete for the same resources so that their relationships are competitive.
In an open society, the rank that the individual attains for himself is more important than the rank of his social group. In some places, subordinate ethnic groups may form a numerical majority, such as blacks in apartheid South Africa. [23] In the United States, for example, non-Hispanic whites constitute the majority (63.4%) and all other racial and ethnic groups (Mexicans, African Americans, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and Native Hawaiians) are classified as “minorities.” [24] If the non-Hispanic white population falls below 50%, the group will be only the majority, not the majority. A minor is a person under the age of 18. The minority period is calculated from the first minute of the person`s day of birth to the same minute of the corresponding day ending the minority period. [ Cal Fam Code § 6500] The lack of coherence in the understanding of what constitutes a minority is a recurring stumbling block to the full and effective realization of the human rights of minorities. Different UN agencies may contradict each other because they consider different groups of people to be a minority – and exclude some people as “non-members of a real minority” for different, sometimes ad hoc, reasons. States Members of the United Nations may sometimes be reluctant to address minority issues because of uncertainty about who is a minority and what that means. In some countries, it may even be assumed that the absence of a “definition” means that it is up to each State to freely determine who is a minority and who is not. In most of these situations, uncertainty leads to restrictive approaches: in many situations, people are considered “unworthy” because they are not “traditional” minorities, citizens or not sufficiently “dominated”.
The end result is that some minorities are excluded because they are not the “right type” of the minority after different parties. In most societies, the number of men and women is about the same. Although women are not considered a minority,[36] the status of women as a subordinate group has led many social scientists to study them as a disadvantaged group. [37] Although women`s legal rights and status vary considerably from country to country, women in different societies may experience social inequalities compared to men. [38] Women are sometimes denied access to education and the same opportunities as men. [39] Complaint: A complaint is an allegation of unlawful discrimination dealt with in an administrative proceeding. A complaint may arise if an employee feels that they have been treated unfairly on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, age, sexual orientation, or physical/mental disability. The allegation itself is not evidence of unlawful discrimination. The investigation, which follows the acceptance of questions from a formal complaint, will serve as a basis for determining whether unlawful discrimination has occurred. Minority, a culturally, ethnically or racially distinct group that coexists with a more dominant group, but is subordinate to a more dominant group. Since the term is used in the social sciences, this subordination is the most important defining characteristic of a minority group. Therefore, minority status is not necessarily correlated with population.
In some cases, one or more so-called minority groups may have a population several times larger than that of the dominant group, as was the case in South Africa during apartheid (circa 1950-91). (b) the “territory” to be taken into consideration in determining whether or not a group is a linguistic, religious or ethnic minority, the whole territory of a State and not one of its political or territorial subdivisions; A minority can disappear from a society through assimilation, a process by which a minority replaces its traditions with those of the dominant culture. However, complete assimilation is very rare. More common is the process of acculturation, in which two or more groups exchange cultural characteristics. A society in which internal groups engage in a practice of acculturation usually develops through this inherent give-and-take, so that the minority culture becomes more similar to the dominant group and the dominant culture becomes more eclectic and accepts differences. Disparate impact: According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Act, less favourable effect for one group than for another. Different effects occur when rules that apply to all employees have a different and more inhibiting effect on women and minority groups than on the majority. For example, non-essential educational requirements for certain jobs may have different effects on minority groups seeking employment, as their access to educational opportunities has often been restricted. Efforts to forcibly eliminate a minority from a society range from displacement and collective violence to ethnic cleansing and genocide.
These forms of oppression obviously have immediate and long-term negative effects on the victims. They also generally destroy the economic, political and mental health of the majority population. There are many examples of expulsion of minorities, such as the British deportation of the French population from Acadia, a group known as the Cajuns, in 1755.