A minority or subordinate group is a sociological group that does not constitute a politically dominant plurality of the total population of a given society. A sociological minority is not necessarily a numerical minority — it may include any group that is disadvantaged with respect to a dominant group in terms of social status, education, employment, wealth and political power. To avoid confusion, some writers prefer the terms "subordinate group" and "dominant group" rather than "minority" and "majority". Look up minority in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... In sociology, a group is usually defined as a collection of humans or animals, who share certain characteristics, interact with one another, accept expectations and obligations as members of the group, and share a common identity. ... A plurality, relative majority or simple majority is the largest share of something, which may or may not be considered a majority, i. ... Social status is the honor or prestige attached to ones position in society (ones social position). ... This article is about work. ... For the business meaning, see Wealth (economics). ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ...

In socioeconomics, the term "minority" typically refers to a socially subordination ethnic group (understood in terms of language, nationality, religion and/or culture). Other minority groups include people with disabilities, "economic minorities" (working poor or unemployed), "age minorities" (who are younger or older than a typical working age) and sexual minorities (whose sexual orientation or gender identity differs from the sociological norm). Socioeconomics or Socio-economics is the study of the relationship between economic activity and social life. ... In English usage, nationality is the legal relationship between a person and a country. ... For other uses, see Culture (disambiguation). ... Look up disability in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Working poor is a term used to describe individuals and families who maintain regular employment but remain in relative poverty due to low levels of pay and dependent expenses. ... Unemployment rates in the United States. ... A sexual minority is a group whose sexual identity, orientation or practices differ from the majority of the surrounding society. ... Sexual orientation refers to the direction of an individuals sexuality, normally conceived of as falling into several significant categories based around the sex or gender that the individual finds attractive. ... This does not cite any references or sources. ... It has been suggested that Convention (norm) be merged into this article or section. ...

The term "minority group" often occurs alongside a discourse of civil rights and collective rights which gained prominence in the 20th century. Members of minority groups are subject to differential treatment in the society in which they live. This discrimination may be directly based on an individual's perceived membership of a minority group, without consideration of that individual's personal achievement. It may also occur indirectly, due to social structures that are not equally accessible to all. Activists campaigning on a range of issues may use the language of minority rights, including student rights, consumer rights and animal rights. In recent years, some members of social groups traditionally perceived as dominant have attempted to present themselves as an oppressed minority, such as white, middle-class heterosexual males.^[1] Civil rights or positive rights are those legal rights retained by citizens and protected by the government. ... The term collective rights refers to rights which are held and exercised by all the people collectively, or by specific subsets of the people. ... This box:      Most broadly, discrimination is the discernment of qualities and rejection of subjects with undesirable qualities. ... Activism, in a general sense, can be described as intentional action to bring about social or political change. ... The term minority rights embodies two separate concepts: first, normal individual rights as applied to members of racial, ethnic, class or religious minorities, and second, collective rights accorded to minority groups. ... In 1969, the United States federal courts ruled that, Students do not shed their constitutional rights. ... Consumer protection is government regulation to protect the interests of consumers, for example by requiring businesses to disclose detailed information about products, particularly in areas where safety or public health is an issue, such as food. ... For the album by Moby, see Animal Rights (album). ...

Studies have consistently shown a correlation between negative attitudes or prejudice toward minorities and social conservatism (as well as the converse, positive attitutes and social progressivism).^[2] Minority groups in history, include Jews under Nazi Germany and African Americans in the Jim Crow period.^{[citation needed]} For with(out) prejudice in law, see Prejudice (law). ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Social progressivism is the view that as time progresses, society should disgregard morality in place of political correctness. ... Nazi Germany, or the Third Reich, commonly refers to Germany in the years 1933–1945, when it was under the firm control of the totalitarian and fascist ideology of the Nazi Party, with the Führer Adolf Hitler as dictator. ... African Americans, also known as Afro-Americans or black Americans, are an ethnic group in the United States of America whose ancestors, usually in predominant part, were indigenous to Sub-Saharan and West Africa. ... This box:      The Jim Crow Laws were state and local laws enacted in the Southern and border states of the United States and enforced between 1876 and 1965. ...

Sociology of minority groups

Sociologist Louis Wirth defined a minority group as "a group of people who, because of their physical or cultural characteristics, are singled out from the others in the society in which they live for differential and unequal treatment, and who therefore regard themselves as objects of collective discrimination."^[3] This definition includes both objective and subjective criteria: membership of a minority group is objectively ascribed by society, based on an individual's physical or behavioral characteristics; it is also subjectively applied by its members, who may use their status as the basis of group identity or solidarity. In any case, minority group status is categorical in nature: an individual who exhibits the physical or behavioral characteristics of a given minority group will be accorded the status of that group and be subject to the same treatment as other members of that group. Louis Wirth was born in Germany, but studied in the United States and became a leading figure in Chicago School sociology. ... For other uses, see Society (disambiguation). ... Ascribed status is a social position a person is given from birth or assumes involuntarily later in life. ... Social Solidarity is the degree or type (see below) of integration of a society. ...

Racial or ethnic minorities

Every large society contains ethnic minorities. They may be migrant, indigenous or landless nomadic communities. In some places, subordinate ethnic groups may constitute a numerical majority, such as Blacks in South Africa under apartheid. International criminal law can protect the rights of racial or ethnic minorities in a number of ways.^[4] The right to self-determination is a key issue. Net migration rates for 2006: positive (blue), negative (orange) and stable (green). ... The term indigenous people has no universal, standard or fixed definition, but can be used about any ethnic group who inhabit the geographic region with which they have the earliest historical connection. ... Kazakh nomads in the steppes of the Russian Empire, ca. ... A segregated beach in South Africa, 1982. ... Self-determination is a principle in international law that a people ought to be able to determine their own governmental forms and structure free from outside influence. ...

Religious minorities

Persons belonging to religious minorities have a faith which is different to that held by the majority. Most countries of the world have religious minorities. It is now widely accepted that people should have the freedom to choose their own religion, including not having any religion (atheism or agnosticism), and including the right to convert from one religion to another. However in some countries this freedom is constricted. For example in Egypt, a new system of identity cards^[5] requires all citizens to state their religion - and the only choices are Islam, Christianity or Judaism (See Egyptian identification card controversy). Minority religion is the religion held by a minority of the population of a country, state, or region. ... “Atheist” redirects here. ... Agnosticism (from the Greek a, meaning without, and Gnosticism or gnosis, meaning knowledge) is the philosophical view that the truth value of certain claims—particularly metaphysical claims regarding theology, afterlife or the existence of God, gods, deities, or even ultimate reality—is unknown or, depending on the form of agnosticism... For people named Islam, see Islam (name). ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      Christianity is... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

A 2006 study suggests that atheists constitute a religious minority in the United States, with researchers concluding: "Americans rate atheists below Muslims, recent immigrants, gays and lesbians and other minority groups in 'sharing their vision of American society.' Atheists are also the minority group most Americans are least willing to allow their children to marry."^[6] “Atheist” redirects here. ...

Gender and sexual minorities

While in most societies, numbers of men and women are roughly equal, the status of women as a subordinate group has led some to equate them with minorities.^[7] In addition, various gender variant people can be seen as constituting a minority group or groups, such as intersexuals, transsexuals, and gender nonconformists — especially when such phenomena are understood as intrinsic characteristics of an identifiable group. Transgender is an overarching term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies that diverge from the gender role (woman or man) commonly, but not always, assigned at birth. ... An intersexual is a person (or individual of any unisexual species) who is born with genitalia and/or secondary sexual characteristics of indeterminate sex, or which combine features of both sexes. ... Look up Transsexuality in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

An understanding of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people as a minority group or groups has gained prominence in the Western world since the 19th century. The acronym LGBT is currently used to group these identities together. The phrase sexual minorities can also be used to refer to these groups, and in addition may include fetishists, practitioners of BDSM, polyamorists and people who prefer sex partners of a disparate age. The term queer is sometimes understood as an umbrella term for all non-normative sexualities and gender expressions, but does not always seek to be understood as a minority; rather, as with many Gay Liberationists of the 1960s and '70s, it sometimes represents an attempt to uncover and embrace the sexual diversity in everyone. A lesbian is a woman who is romantically and sexually attracted only to other women. ... GAY can mean: Gay, a term referring to homosexual men or women The IATA code for Gaya Airport Category: ... “Bisexual” redirects here. ... A transgender person in New York Citys Gay Pride Parade Transgender (IPA: , from trans (Latin) and gender (English) ) is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies that diverge from the normative gender role (woman or man) commonly, but not always, assigned at... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... A sexual minority is a group whose sexual identity, orientation or practices differ from the majority of the surrounding society. ... Sexual fetishism is the attribution of attractive sexual qualities to non-living objects as an overwhelming alternative to the sexuality of a man or a woman, or as an enhancing element to a relationship. ... A collar is a common symbol in BDSM. Female bottom in bondage with leather monoglove BDSM is any of a number of related patterns of human sexual behavior. ... Polyamory (from poly=multiple + amor=love) is the desire, practice, or acceptance of having more than one loving, intimate relationship at a time with the full knowledge and consent of everyone involved. ... Significant age disparity in sexual relationships has been a feature of couples in many cultures and societies. ... The word queer has traditionally meant strange or unusual, but it is also currently often used in reference to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, and asexual communities. ... In positivist philosophy, normative is contrasted with its antonym, positive, when describing types of theories, beliefs, or statements. ... Gay Liberation (or Gay Lib) is the name used to describe the radical lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered movement of the late 1960s and early to mid 1970s in North America, Western Europe, and Australia and New Zealand. ...

Age minorities

The elderly, while traditionally influential or even (in a gerontocracy) dominant in the past, have in the modern age usually been reduced to the minority role of economically 'non-active' groups. Children can also be understood as a minority group in these terms, and the discrimination faced by the young is known as adultism. Discrimination against the elderly is known as ageism. This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Adultism is a predisposition towards adults, which some see as biased against children, youth, and all young people who arent addressed or viewed as adults. ... Look up ageism in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Various local and international statutes are in place to mitigate the exploitation of children, such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child, as well as a number of organisations that make up the children's rights movement. The youth rights movement campaigns for social empowerment for young people, and against the legal and social restrictions placed on legal minors. Groups that advocate the interests of senior citizens range from the charitable (Help the Aged) to grass-roots activism (Gray Panthers), and often overlap with disability rights issues. International human rights instruments can be classified into two categories: declarations, adopted by bodies such as the United Nations General Assembly, which are not legally binding although they may be politically so; and conventions, which are legally binding instruments concluded under international law. ... Convention on the Rights of the Child Opened for signature 20 November 1989 in - Entered into force September 2, 1990 Conditions for entry into force 20 ratifications or accessions (Article 49) Parties 193 (only 2 non-parties: USA and Somalia) The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child... Manifestations Slavery · Racial profiling · Lynching Hate speech · Hate crime · Hate groups Genocide · Holocaust · Pogrom Ethnocide · Ethnic cleansing · Race war Religious persecution · Gay bashing Movements Discriminatory Aryanism · Neo-Nazism · Supremacism Fundamentalism · Kahanism Anti-discriminatory Abolitionism · Civil rights · Gay rights Womens/Universal suffrage · Mens rights Childrens rights · Youth rights... Manifestations Slavery · Racial profiling · Lynching Hate speech · Hate crime · Hate groups Genocide · Holocaust · Pogrom Ethnocide · Ethnic cleansing · Race war Religious persecution · Gay bashing Pedophobia · Ephebiphobia Movements Discriminatory Aryanism · Neo-Nazism · Supremacism Kahanism Anti-discriminatory Abolitionism · Civil rights · Gay rights Womens/Universal suffrage · Mens rights Childrens rights · Youth... In many countries such as India, the UK, Australia, Canada and New Zealand a minor is presently defined as a person under the age of 18. ... Old age consists of ages nearing the average lifespan of human beings, and thus the end of the human life cycle. ... Established in 1961, Help the Aged is a United Kingdom based, international charity fighting to free disadvantaged older people from poverty, isolation and neglect. ... Gray Panthers is an American organization promoting senior citizens rights, founded by Maggie Kuhn in 1970, in response to her forced retirement at age 65. ...

Disabled minorities

The Disability rights movement has contributed to an understanding of disabled people as a minority or a coalition of minorities who are disadvantaged by society, not just as people who are disadvantaged by their impairments. Advocates of disability rights emphasise difference in physical or psychological functioning, rather than inferiority — for example, some people with autism argue for acceptance of neurodiversity, much as opponents of racism argue for acceptance of ethnic diversity. The deaf community is often regarded as a linguistic and cultural minority rather than a disabled group, and many deaf people do not see themselves as disabled at all. Rather, they are disadvantaged by technologies and social institutions that are designed to cater for the dominant group. The disability rights movement aims to improve the quality of life of people with disabilities. ... Autism is a brain development disorder characterized by impairments in social interaction and communication, and restricted and repetitive behavior, all exhibited before a child is three years old. ... Neurodiversity is an idea that asserts that atypical (neurodivergent) neurological wiring is a normal human difference that is to be tolerated and respected as any other human difference. ... Racism is the prejudice that members of one race are intrinsically superior or inferior to members of other races. ... This article needs to be wikified. ... The word deaf can have very different meanings depending on the background of the person speaking or the context in which the word is used. ...

Minorities in law and government

In the politics of some countries, a minority is an ethnic group that is recognized as such by respective laws of its country and therefore has some rights that other groups lack. Speakers of a legally-recognized minority language, for instance, might have the right to education or communication with the government in their mother tongue. Countries that have special provisions for minorities include China, Germany, India, Romania, Russia, and the United Kingdom (which does maintain the concept of a British supra-nation, however). In the United States, the term minority typically refers to members of the non-white population. The Politics series Politics Portal This box:      Politics is the process by which groups of people make decisions. ... For other uses, see Country (disambiguation). ... A minority language is a language spoken by a minority of the population of a country. ...

Differing minority groups often are not given identical treatment. Some groups are too small or too indistinct compared to the majority, that they either identify as part of the same nation as the members of the majority, or they identify as a separate nation but are ignored by the majority because of the costs or some other aspect of providing preferences. For example, a member of a particularly small ethnic group might be forced to check "Other" on a checklist of different backgrounds, and consequently might receive fewer privileges than a member of a more defined group.

Many contemporary governments prefer to assume the people they rule all belong to the same nationality rather than separate ones based on ethnicity. The United States asks for race and ethnicity on its official census forms, which thus breaks up and organizes its population into different sub-groups, but primarily on racial origin rather than national one. Spain does not divide its nationals by ethnic group, although it does maintain an official notion of minority languages. The United States Census Bureau uses the federal governments definitions of race when performing a census. ...

Some minorities are so relatively large or historically or otherwise important that the system is set up in a way to guarantee them comprehensive protection and political representation. As an example, the former Yugoslav republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina recognizes the three main nations, none of which constitute a numerical majority, as constitutive nations, see nations of Bosnia and Herzegovina. However, other minorities such as Roma and Jews, are officially labelled as "others" and are excluded from many of these protections - for example they may not be elected to a range of high political positions including the presidency.^[8] For other uses, see Nation (disambiguation). ... More than 95% of population of Bosnia and Herzegovina belongs to one of its three constitutive nations: Bosniaks, Croats and Serbs. ... Languages Romani, languages of native region Religions Christianity, Islam Related ethnic groups South Asians (Desi) The Roma (singular Rom; sometimes Rroma, Rrom) or Romanies are an ethnic group living in many communities all over the world. ...

The issue of establishing minority groups, and determining the extent of privileges they might derive from their status, is controversial. There are some who argue that minorities are owed special recognition and rights, while others feel that minorities are unjustified in demanding special rights, as this amounts to preferential discrimination and could hamper the ability of the minority to integrate itself into mainstream society - perhaps to the point at which the minority follows a path to separatism or supremacism. In Canada, some feel that the failure of the dominant English-speaking majority to integrate French Canadians has given rise to Quebec separatism. This box:      Most broadly, discrimination is the discernment of qualities and rejection of subjects with undesirable qualities. ... “Separatists” redirects here. ... Supremacism is the belief that ones race or religion is the supreme, and that those of other distinctions are (by various arbitrary criteria) unfit for social or religious interaction, and sexual reproduction. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Quebec The Quebec sovereignty movement is a movement calling for the attainment of sovereignty for Quebec, a province of the country of Canada. ...

Affirmative action

One particularly controversial issue is affirmative action. This can be, for example, a government programme to provide immigrant or minority groups with extra teaching in the majority language, so that they are better able to compete for places at university or for jobs. These may be considered necessary because the minority group in question is socially disadvantaged. Another form of affirmative action is quotas, where a percentage of places at university, or in employment in public services, are set aside for minority groups. This is arguably not the most ideal form of affirmative action, as it can be perceived as minorities being granted special privileges that the majority does not enjoy. In its worst form it can lead to so-called positive discrimination - where for example an individual of minority status is given preference for a place at a university over a more or equally-qualified non-minority person. Affirmative action refers to policies intended to promote access to education or employment aimed at a historically socio-politically non-dominant group (typically, minorities or women). ... Affirmative action refers to policies intended to promote access to education or employment aimed at a historically socio-politically non-dominant group (typically, minorities or women). ... Representation of a university class, 1350s. ...

References

The Newsweek logo Newsweek is a weekly news magazine published in New York City and distributed throughout the United States and internationally. ... This article contains a trivia section. ... Dr. Lyal S. Sunga, Senior Lecturer / Director of Research, Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, Lund, Sweden, is a specialist on international human rights law, international humanitarian law and international criminal law. ...

See also

• Dominant minority
• Model minority
• Majority
• Marginalized group
• Ethnic group
• Minority rights
• Minority religion
• Minority Rights Group International
• Ethnic minorities in Northern Ireland
• List of minority political parties

The Politics series Politics Portal This box:      A dominant minority, also known as alien elites if they are recent immigrants, is a group that has overwhelming political, economic or cultural dominance in a country or region despite representing a small fraction of the overall population (a demographic minority). ... April 1984 cover of Newsweek featuring an article on the success of Asian American students Model minority refers to a minority ethnic, racial, or religious group whose members achieve a higher degree of success than the population average. ... A majority is a subset of a group that is more than half of the entire group. ... Marginalized group in sociology refers to various groups that are outside of mainstream - like the homeless, geeks, punks, skinheads, as well as minorities (sexual, national, etc. ... The term minority rights embodies two separate concepts: first, normal individual rights as applied to members of racial, ethnic, class or religious minorities, and second, collective rights accorded to minority groups. ... Minority religion is the religion held by a minority of the population of a country, state, or region. ... Minority Rights Group International (or MRG) is an organisation founded in 1965 with the objective of promoting human rights and increasing awareness of minority issues. ... Since its creation, Northern Ireland has attracted immigrants from all over the world. ... This is a list of Political parties of minorities. ...

External links

• ECMI - European Centre for Minority Issues
• What is a Minority Group? definitions from Dayton Law School.
• From Paris to Cairo: Resistance of the Unacculturated
• When minorities rule over majorities
• Minorities at Risk project at the University of Maryland
• MINELRES - Minority Electronic Resources
• European Academy Bozen/Bolzano (EURAC)
• Weaver v NATFHEIn the Weaver v NATFHE race discrimination case, UK, an Employment Tribunal decided that a union’s principal obligation in race harassment cases is to protect the tenure of the accused employee. A trade union member from an ethnic minority group making a complaint of workplace harassment against a fellow employee and member of the same union was not entitled to union advice and assistance, irrespective of the merit of the case, because the employee complained against could lose his job. The Employment Appeal Tribunal upheld the decision. Also known as the Bournville College Racial Harassment Issue
• Eurominority - Stateless and national minorities portal
• State of the World's Minorities 2007, Report by Minority Rights Group International