Deck 8: The Social Distribution of Opportunity: Class, Gender, and Race

Question 1

Explain why women are under-represented in white-collar crime.

Answer 1

Not in the good old boys network - they have limited access to informal networks for power and access to illegal activities; women are potentially more law-abiding than men; chivalry - women are not caught or prosecuted as much for white-collar offenses; women have different motivations for engaging in white-collar offenses (e.g., relational ties); stereotypes/socialization - women are socialized to be more law-abiding or take more stereotypical jobs where their access to white-collar offending is limited; women are less risky; women are monitored more when they get into key management positions, they have less trust from others and are more likely to be whistle-blowers when in these positions.

Question 2

Discuss the reasons why class-advantaged whites may have more opportunities for white-collar crimes than similarly situated minorities.

Answer 2

Minority leaders are subjected to more oversight than white leaders and therefore may have less opportunity to engage in white-collar crime; minority leaders have lower access to informal networks/social capital (the good old boys system) and thus have fewer opportunities for white-collar crimes.

Question 3

The term "environmental injustice" comes from the environmental justice movement. It refers to:

A) The W. R. Grace Company's pollution of the drinking water of Woburn, Massachusetts
B) The failure of the EPA to prosecute environmental offenders in criminal court
C) The disproportionate imposition of environmental harms on disadvantaged communities and people
D) The overuse of criminal sanctions by the EPA

Answer 3

C

Question 4

White-collar crimes are distributed evenly across industries.

Question 5

______ refers to the barriers women face moving in to management-level positions within businesses.

A) Upward mobility
B) The glass ceiling
C) The minority ceiling
D) None of the above

Question 6

________ is a measure of a person's social position that is assessed on a continuum that runs from low to high.

A) Social status
B) Social class

Question 7

The number of victims and dollar value associated with the victims' losses are indicators of:

A) The complexity of crime
B) The severity of crime
C) The meaningfulness of crime

Question 8

Which is not one of the criteria that Wright based social class position on, according to the book?

A) Ownership of assets
B) Control over assets
C) Possession of skill or credential assets
D) Kinship relations with others

Question 9

According to the book, the Yale study found tax fraud and bank embezzlement to be highly complex.

Question 10

According to the book, who has the most opportunity to commit white-collar offenses (check all that apply)?

A) Managers
B) Supervisors
C) Clerical staff
D) Entry-level positions

Question 11

In which type of white-collar crime is the gender gap closing?

A) Tax violations
B) Antitrust violations
C) Securities fraud

Question 12

Women's motivations for white-collar crimes may be different than men's motivations for engaging in white-collar crimes.

Question 13

Men and women have ______ exposure to white-collar victimization.

A) The same
B) Different

Question 14

According to the book, nonwhites are becoming more involved in ______ types of white-collar crimes.

A) Lower-level
B) Middle- and upper-level

Question 15

Environmental racism is similar to environmental injustice.

Question 16

Environmental risks that minorities are more exposed to include (check all that apply):

A) Air pollution
B) Hazardous waste
C) Environmental toxins
D) None of the above

Question 17

According to the opportunity perspective provided throughout the book, what accounts for the elevated risk of environmental and occupational victimization for minorities (check all that apply)?

A) Lack of access to guardianship
B) Lack of motivated offenders
C) Proximity to offenders or corporations
D) Differential motivations of offenders