Employment equity is a growing area of research. It is a contentious issue because some individuals argue that all occupations should equally reflect the demographics of the local community, while others would argue that employment equity policies may be unfair to men and Caucasians. An interesting topic for a thesis would be to select an occupation or profession and trace the evolution of gender and racial representation over time. Are some groups under- or overrepresented? Are women and visible minorities being employed at all employment levels, including senior administrators and executives? Women and African-Americans are often overrepresented in state governments, while Latinos are usually underrepresented.
Gentrification refers to the restoration of urban areas through the displacement of low-income residents by the middle and upper classes. You could select a specific neighborhood, town or city and document any changes in the demographic composition over time. More specific, you could look at how the characteristics of the local restaurants, entertainment and employment opportunities have changed over time. Are certain areas more or less likely to gentrify? Does gentrification in any way positively affect the health or social well-being of residents? One way of looking at this is that when poverty is concentrated, the mental health and cognitive functioning of children is negatively affected and gentrification helps to resolve this.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention collect data regarding the prevalence of intermarriage --- marriages between different races --- in the United States. An interesting topic would be to compare the levels of intermarriage between nations or between individual American states. Are some groups more likely to form relationships, cohabitate or marry people from different races or ethnicities? How has the prevalence of interracial relationships --- between or within nations --- changed over time? During the 1990s, the United States experienced considerable increases in intermarriage between Caucasians and African-Americans. More recently, marriage between Hispanics and Asian-Americans has become common, while intermarriage with Caucasians has declined significantly.
The representation of individuals on televisions and film has changed considerably over the last 20 years. In the late 1990s, the major US cable networks were harshly criticized for the absence of leading roles for African-Americans. How do the characteristics of present-day primetime television shows or Hollywood films compare to past decades? Do the lead actors and actresses today represent the broad demographics of the United States? Has the emergence of reality television changed they way American society defines a celebrity?