Sociology of Race Gender and Inequality
Exam Structural Racism Intersectionality
Social Mobility Prep 2026/2027 – Complete
Exam-100 Questions questions and
answers with rationiles ALREADY GRADED
A+
SECTION 1: MULTIPLE CHOICE (40 questions)
1. Which concept refers to the ways in which race, class, and gender simultaneously shape an
individual’s experiences of privilege and oppression?
a) Double jeopardy
b) Structural functionalism
c) Intersectionality
d) Colorblind ideology
Answer: c) Intersectionality
Rationale: Intersectionality (Crenshaw, 1989) is the framework for analyzing simultaneous,
interacting social categories. Double jeopardy (a) is an additive predecessor. Structural
functionalism (b) ignores power. Colorblind ideology (d) denies race.
2. According to Rothstein’s The Color of Law, which government policy most directly created
contemporary racial residential segregation?
a) Jim Crow laws in the South only
b) De jure redlining by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA)
c) Private restrictive covenants without government involvement
d) The Civil Rights Act of 1964
,Answer: b) De jure redlining by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA)
Rationale: Rothstein shows the FHA explicitly refused to insure mortgages in Black
neighborhoods (1930s–1960s), creating de jure segregation. Private covenants existed but were
enforced by courts (c). The Civil Rights Act (d) came later and didn’t reverse prior policy.
3. What is the “motherhood penalty” in labor markets?
a) Mothers earn more than childless women due to responsibility
b) Mothers experience reduced wages and perceived competence per child
c) Fathers experience wage penalties as well
d) Only single mothers are penalized
Answer: b) Mothers experience reduced wages and perceived competence per child
Rationale: Research (Budig & England, 2001) shows a per-child wage penalty for mothers, due
to stereotypes of reduced commitment and flexibility. Fathers often receive a “fatherhood
bonus” (c). Single mothers face additional but not exclusive penalties (d).
4. In Pager’s (2003) audit study of low-wage workers in Milwaukee, which applicant received the
most callbacks?
a) White applicant with a felony record
b) Black applicant with no criminal record
c) White applicant with no criminal record
d) Black applicant with a felony record
Answer: c) White applicant with no criminal record
Rationale: Pager found that a white applicant with no record received the most callbacks (34%).
Critically, a white applicant with a felony record received more callbacks (17%) than a Black
applicant with no record (14%), demonstrating racialized punishment.
5. Which term describes the movement of an individual between their parents’ socioeconomic
position and their own adult position?
a) Intragenerational mobility
b) Structural mobility
c) Intergenerational mobility
d) Exchange mobility
Answer: c) Intergenerational mobility
Rationale: Intergenerational = across generations (parent to child). Intragenerational (a) =
, within one’s own career. Structural (b) = mobility due to economy-wide changes. Exchange
mobility (d) = one person moves up while another moves down in a zero-sum way.
6. According to Chetty et al. (2020), which U.S. group experiences the lowest rates of upward
intergenerational mobility?
a) White women from poor families
b) Black boys from both poor and affluent families
c) Hispanic girls from immigrant families
d) Asian American men from middle-class families
Answer: b) Black boys from both poor and affluent families
Rationale: The Opportunity Atlas found that Black boys have drastically lower mobility even
when raised in high-income neighborhoods. White boys from low-income families have higher
adult incomes than Black boys from high-income families.
7. “Targeted universalism” means:
a) Universal policies that ignore race
b) Policies targeting only the most disadvantaged groups
c) Universal goals achieved through group-specific means
d) Affirmative action only for women
Answer: c) Universal goals achieved through group-specific means
Rationale: Targeted universalism (Powell, 2009) sets universal objectives (e.g., everyone has
housing) but uses race/gender-conscious strategies (e.g., repairing redlining) to achieve them,
unlike colorblind universality (a) which reproduces inequality.
8. Which scholar is most associated with “matrix of domination”?
a) Kimberlé Crenshaw
b) Patricia Hill Collins
c) William Julius Wilson
d) Eduardo Bonilla-Silva
Answer: b) Patricia Hill Collins
Rationale: Collins’ Black Feminist Thought (1990) introduces the “matrix of domination” to
describe interlocking systems of race, class, gender, and sexuality. Crenshaw (a) coined
intersectionality. Wilson (c) focuses on class and deindustrialization. Bonilla-Silva (d) theorizes
structural racism and colorblind ideology.
Exam Structural Racism Intersectionality
Social Mobility Prep 2026/2027 – Complete
Exam-100 Questions questions and
answers with rationiles ALREADY GRADED
A+
SECTION 1: MULTIPLE CHOICE (40 questions)
1. Which concept refers to the ways in which race, class, and gender simultaneously shape an
individual’s experiences of privilege and oppression?
a) Double jeopardy
b) Structural functionalism
c) Intersectionality
d) Colorblind ideology
Answer: c) Intersectionality
Rationale: Intersectionality (Crenshaw, 1989) is the framework for analyzing simultaneous,
interacting social categories. Double jeopardy (a) is an additive predecessor. Structural
functionalism (b) ignores power. Colorblind ideology (d) denies race.
2. According to Rothstein’s The Color of Law, which government policy most directly created
contemporary racial residential segregation?
a) Jim Crow laws in the South only
b) De jure redlining by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA)
c) Private restrictive covenants without government involvement
d) The Civil Rights Act of 1964
,Answer: b) De jure redlining by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA)
Rationale: Rothstein shows the FHA explicitly refused to insure mortgages in Black
neighborhoods (1930s–1960s), creating de jure segregation. Private covenants existed but were
enforced by courts (c). The Civil Rights Act (d) came later and didn’t reverse prior policy.
3. What is the “motherhood penalty” in labor markets?
a) Mothers earn more than childless women due to responsibility
b) Mothers experience reduced wages and perceived competence per child
c) Fathers experience wage penalties as well
d) Only single mothers are penalized
Answer: b) Mothers experience reduced wages and perceived competence per child
Rationale: Research (Budig & England, 2001) shows a per-child wage penalty for mothers, due
to stereotypes of reduced commitment and flexibility. Fathers often receive a “fatherhood
bonus” (c). Single mothers face additional but not exclusive penalties (d).
4. In Pager’s (2003) audit study of low-wage workers in Milwaukee, which applicant received the
most callbacks?
a) White applicant with a felony record
b) Black applicant with no criminal record
c) White applicant with no criminal record
d) Black applicant with a felony record
Answer: c) White applicant with no criminal record
Rationale: Pager found that a white applicant with no record received the most callbacks (34%).
Critically, a white applicant with a felony record received more callbacks (17%) than a Black
applicant with no record (14%), demonstrating racialized punishment.
5. Which term describes the movement of an individual between their parents’ socioeconomic
position and their own adult position?
a) Intragenerational mobility
b) Structural mobility
c) Intergenerational mobility
d) Exchange mobility
Answer: c) Intergenerational mobility
Rationale: Intergenerational = across generations (parent to child). Intragenerational (a) =
, within one’s own career. Structural (b) = mobility due to economy-wide changes. Exchange
mobility (d) = one person moves up while another moves down in a zero-sum way.
6. According to Chetty et al. (2020), which U.S. group experiences the lowest rates of upward
intergenerational mobility?
a) White women from poor families
b) Black boys from both poor and affluent families
c) Hispanic girls from immigrant families
d) Asian American men from middle-class families
Answer: b) Black boys from both poor and affluent families
Rationale: The Opportunity Atlas found that Black boys have drastically lower mobility even
when raised in high-income neighborhoods. White boys from low-income families have higher
adult incomes than Black boys from high-income families.
7. “Targeted universalism” means:
a) Universal policies that ignore race
b) Policies targeting only the most disadvantaged groups
c) Universal goals achieved through group-specific means
d) Affirmative action only for women
Answer: c) Universal goals achieved through group-specific means
Rationale: Targeted universalism (Powell, 2009) sets universal objectives (e.g., everyone has
housing) but uses race/gender-conscious strategies (e.g., repairing redlining) to achieve them,
unlike colorblind universality (a) which reproduces inequality.
8. Which scholar is most associated with “matrix of domination”?
a) Kimberlé Crenshaw
b) Patricia Hill Collins
c) William Julius Wilson
d) Eduardo Bonilla-Silva
Answer: b) Patricia Hill Collins
Rationale: Collins’ Black Feminist Thought (1990) introduces the “matrix of domination” to
describe interlocking systems of race, class, gender, and sexuality. Crenshaw (a) coined
intersectionality. Wilson (c) focuses on class and deindustrialization. Bonilla-Silva (d) theorizes
structural racism and colorblind ideology.
