Question

What is the distinction between institutionalized and isolated discrimination? Can discrimination be unintentional as well as intentional? Explain your answer.

Answer 1

Institutionalized discrimination refers to unequal and unjust treatment of a group of individuals by society and and it’s institutions as a whole. Discrimination at the institutional level is manifested through unequal selection, representation or bias. On the other hand, isolated discrimination refers to acts of negative treatment carried out by one person against another. Isolated discrimination creates social problems, but it is primarily an issue between individuals.

It is possible for discrimination to be intentional or unintentional. Some individuals may make a conscious choice to discriminate. For instance, a landlord who refuses to rent an apartment to an African-American woman is aware that he is discriminating. Whereas, unintentional discrimination can occur due to happen due to ignorance or implicit stereotypes. An example would be where somebody uses an offensive word to describe somebody from another race or culture, without being aware of the offensive nature of the word.