Final Summary/ Reaction

My survey work is pretty much complete. I am still hoping to get a few more in the next few days. I have found some interesting things from doing this survey. Many of my own relatives have experienced racism first hand. It was eye-opening to see some of the things that went on. I was also surprised to see the amount of discrimination within the Native American reservation itself. I asked about what type of reactions people got when others found out they were Native American and the reactions are pretty surprising. Many people quickly jumped to stereotypes of Native Americans. I was shocked to find out that every participant in the survey, experienced stereotyping. It seemed strange that people were so willing to voice their stereotypes directly to Native Americans. They did not seem to see any problem with that.
I was also surprised to see that so many of the people who took my survey had college degrees, because the average level of education of Native Americans is less than other races in America.

I'm looking forward to presenting my findings and sharing my results!

Revised Summary/Plan/Update

I have posted my survey to the Facebook group that my family has and I have received a few responses. So far the responses I've received were very interesting. Some of the people who responded actually grew up on a Native American reservation and continue to live there. They had very interesting stories. All of the people who responded have experienced racism is one way or another. Many have experienced stereotyping. One person even described an issue relating to colorism. I still need to get more responses so I plan to re-post the survey and send some family members direct messages if necessary.

I asked to following questions:

Gender: *

• Male
• Female

How old are you? *

•  15-25 years old
•  26-35 years old
•  36-45 years old
•  46-55 years old
•  56-65 years old
•  66 years old or above

Where you born or raised on a reservation? *

• Yes
• No 
• What is your level of education? *

Check all that apply.

• Less than a high school degree
•  High School degree
•  Bachelors Degree
•  Masters Degree
•  Doctorate

What is your current occupation? *

Have you experienced racism in anyway because you are Native American? *

If you have, please explain the occurrence(s).

How do most people respond when they learn you are Native American? *

i.e. surprised, fascinated, etc.

What is your position on sports teams with names such as the "Redskins?" *

•  I find them offensive.
•  I am indifferent.
• I do not find them offensive.

Have you experienced any stereotyping of Native Americans? *

Gender Wage Gap

 Both the article "Gender Pay Gap Persists" and "Gender Wage Gap May BeSmaller Than Many Think" were very insightful into the issues surrounding the gender pay gap. The authors of the articles agree that women have made huge gains in education and employment but still fight for equality in terms of pay. Both articles offer that women tend to chose lower paying majors in college like education and social sciences as a possible reason for this. There is a disparity of men in higher paying professions.  The article "Gender Pay Gap Persists" suggests that this gap could be due to discrimination against women who try t negotiate for a higher salary.  "Gender Wage Gap May Be Smaller Than Many Think" suggests that the pay gap could be due to many women taking jobs that have lower pay but better benefits after having children. All of these reasons are very logical and seem to make an impact on the wage gap. I think that the article "Gender Wage Gap May Be Smaller Than Many Think" makes this point that while overall women earn 82.2% less than men, the actual wage gap between a man and a woman doing the same job is 7%.

Although the gap may seem small, I still think it is unfair and needs to be fixed. There is no reason that women should make less money than men for doing the same job. I think more women should branch out into the typically male-dominated professions. Women should also lobby Congress to find a solution to this problem. I think women should stand up and negotiate for higher wages and fight the discrimination against them. It is unjust that this would still exist in 2013. 

Week 2 - Strategy/Plan for Research

I plan on asking my family, who is Native American, to answer a survey about racism toward Native Americas.  I am going to use a Facebook group that my family has to reach out to various family members. I want to ask a wide variety of question to get a better understanding of racism, inequality, and discrimination against Native Americans.  I think it would be interesting to see if an inequality in education still exists.
Some of the questions I plan to ask are:
1. Were you born on a reservation or raised on a reservation?
2. What is your level of education?
3. What is your current job?
4. Have you experienced racism in any way because you are a Native American?
5. How do people respond when they find out you are Native American?
6. What is your position on sports teams with names like "the redskins"? Do you find them offensive?