Employment (2022)

It is commonly assumed that all Americans can become employed if they take advantage of available job opportunities. Our research addresses how access to employment, or lack thereof, affects Americans’ quality of life by examining how policies surrounding employment are structured. These policies are often created with bias; in reality, race and gender significantly impact an individual’s chances for becoming employed. In addition to impacting a person’s quality of life, these policies influence opportunities for upward social mobility; not all Americans have an equal opportunity to become employed. Fixing/creating new policies that provide better benefits for working middle- and lower-class individuals should help decrease unemployment among Americans. The present study reviews scholarly literature about employment in the United States and examines national policies, historical trends, structural issues, and privilege related to employment.