This thesis employs advanced econometric methods to understand the determinants of race inequalities in labour markets and in higher education in Brazil. It then investigates whether race diversity can be used as a policy to reduce existing inequalities in pay and college campuses. It uses data from the National Household Sample Survey PNAD of 2005 and the National Examination of Higher Education Courses (ENC/Provão) of 2003. The main methodological contributions of this thesis are: 1) extending wage models to include several variables which can explain more than 40 percent of the total variation in wages; 2) computing a proxy for parental education (this has not been possible to estimate using PNAD since 1996); 3) correcting wage equations for selection bias using a robust instrument (most studies ignore the sample selection problem by using employed males only); 4) implementing a new algorithm that combines Heckman Two-Step, complex sample weights and constrained least squares (this increases robustness of the detailed decomposition of the discrimination term). This is done in a generalized wage decomposition setting where the level of discrimination is invariant to the choice of the reference wage group. Results show an existing pay-gap and a significant level of discrimination against nonwhites even after corrections are made. Selection bias appears to underestimate the discrimination term considerably. This study also develops a theoretical framework for the study of the impact of diversity on labour productivity and on discrimination simultaneously. Results support policies which seek greater diversity in order to reduce the existing inequalities in labour markets and on higher education campuses. However, the outcome of policies aimed at increasing diversity on campuses can significantly differ depending on the existing level of diversity and the subject majors attended by students.

Harriet Beecher Stowe penned Uncle Tom’s Cabin which was published in 1852. This book exposed and condemned the atrocities of slavery. Her book became a bestseller and is said to be one of the primary reasons why slavery was eventually abolished. Though slavery has been dismantled the system of oppression which allowed the marginalization of others to thrive has never been eliminated. This system established a dominant culture; one which oppresses those of African descent and has endured for centuries. Tommi’s Place retells Uncle Tom’s Cabin in contemporary corporate America. Tommi’s Place reflects that this system of oppression is still alive and well today. It exists in the form of discriminatory practices that thwart, prevent, preclude, and stop the advancement of the marginalized especially those of African descent.