SOCIAL INEQUALITY

Social inequality
Social inequality refers to relational processes
in society that have the effect of limiting or
harming a group's social status, social class,
and social circle.Areas of social inequality
include access to voting rights, freedom of
speech and assembly, the extent of property
rights and access to education, health care,
quality housing, traveling, transportation,
vacationing and other social goods and
services.Apart from that it can also be seen in
the quality of family and neighbourhood life,
occupation, job satisfaction, and access to
credit.
If these economic divisions harden, they can
lead to social inequality.[1] The reasons for
social inequality can vary, but are often
broad and far reaching.
Social inequality can emerge through a
society's understanding of appropriate
gender roles, or through the prevalence of
social stereotyping.
Social inequality can also be established
through discriminatory legislation.
Social inequalities exist between ethnic or religious groups,
classes and countries making the concept of social inequality
a global phenomenon.
Social inequality is different from economic inequality, though
the two are linked.
Social inequality refers to disparities in the distribution of
economic assets and income as well as between the overall
quality and luxury of each person's existence within a society,
while economic inequality is caused by the unequal
accumulation of wealth; social inequality exists because the
lack of wealth in certain areas prohibits these people from
obtaining the same housing, health care, etc. as the wealthy,
in societies where access to these social goods depends on
wealth.
Social inequality is linked to racial inequality, gender
inequality, and wealth inequality.
The way people behave socially, through racist or sexist
practices and other forms of discrimination, tends to trickle
down and affect the opportunities and wealth individuals can
generate for themselves.
Thomas M.Shapiro presents a hypothetical example of this in
his book, The Hidden Cost of Being African American, in
which he tries to demonstrate the level of inequality on the
"playing field for blacks and whites."
One example he presents reports how a black family was
denied a bank loan to use for housing, while a white family
was approved.
As being a homeowner is an important method in acquiring
wealth, this situation created fewer opportunities for the
black family to acquire wealth, producing social inequality.
CAPITAL: SYMBOLIC, SOCIAL, CULTURAL, HUMAN
Symbolic capital can be referred to as the resources
available to an individual on the basis of honour,
prestige or recognition, and serves as value that one
holds within a culture. In sociology, social capital is the
expected collective or economic benefits derived from
the preferential treatment and cooperation between
individuals and groups. Although different social
sciences emphasise different aspects of social capital,
they tend to share the core idea “that social networks
have value”. Just as a screwdriver (physical capital) or a
university education (cultural capital or human capital)
can increase productivity (both individual and
collective), so do social contacts affect the productivity
of individuals and groups.
The term cultural capital refers to non-
financial social assets that promote social
mobility beyond economic means. Examples
can include education, intellect, style of
speech, dress, or physical appearance.
Human capital is the stock of competencies,
knowledge, habits, social and personality
attributes, including creativity, cognitive
abilities, embodied in the ability to perform
labor so as to produce economic value. It is
an aggregate economic view of the human
being acting within economies,
which is an attempt to capture the social,
biological, cultural and psychological
complexity as they interact in explicit
and/or economic transactions. Many
theories explicitly connect investment in
human capital development to education,
and the role of human capital in economic
development, productivity growth, and
innovation has frequently been cited as a
justification for government subsidies for
education and job skills training.
What is Gender Equality?
Gender equality is achieved when women and men enjoy the
same rights and opportunities across all sectors of society,
including economic participation and decision-making, and
when the different behaviours, aspirations and needs of
women and men are equally valued and favoured.
The European Institute for Gender Equality has compiled
anonline Glossary of gender mainstreaming concepts and def
initions, drawn from international and regional women’s
human rights instruments, European Union and Council of
Europe legislative and strategy documents.
The Council of Europe has also compiled
a Gender Equality Glossary based on the definitions and
terms of Council of Europe instruments and standards
relating to gender equality and this is available online.
How Do We Measure Gender Equality?
Gender equality is measured by looking at the representation of
men and of women in a range of roles.
The Central Statistics Office regularly publishes
"Women and Men in Ireland", a compendium of key statistics
which enable us to map progress achieved towards de facto
gender equality in Ireland.
The European Union statistical office, Eurostat, publishes an
overview of gender statistics for the European Union from fields
such as education, the labour market, earnings and health,
important for showing differences in the situations of women and
men.
A number of international comparative gender equality
indices also exist which offer a way to compare Ireland’s
achievements with those of other countries. Each index looks at a
distinct list of parameters and the choice of parameters affects the
outcome for each country.
European Institute for Gender Equality EU Gender
Equality Index
The European Institute for Gender Equality
(EIGE) EU Gender Equality Index provides an easily
interpretable measure of gender equality in the EU
across 6 key policy domains – work, money, knowledge,
time, power and health, and two satellite domains
(violence and intersecting inequalities).
United Nations Gender Inequality Index
The United Nations Gender Inequality Index is based on
the premise that "all too often, women and girls are
discriminated against in health, education and the labour
market with negative repercussions for their
freedom". The UN GII is a measure based on these
inequalities.
World Economic Forum Global Gender Gap Report
The Global Gender Gap Report, introduced by the World
Economic Forum in 2006, is another framework for
capturing the magnitude and scope of gender-based
disparities which benchmarks national gender gaps on
economic, political, education and health criteria. This
Index looks at economic participation and opportunity
deviation; educational attainment deviation; health and
survival deviation and political empowerment deviation.
Social Watch Gender Equity Indexsocial Watch is a
network comprised by national coalitions of civil society
organizations and it too prepares an index.
The Social Watch gender equality index is based on the
gap between women and men in education, the
economy and political empowerment.
Marginalization Of Ethnic And Racial Minorities
In a capitalist society in which all goods, industry and trade are
controlled by private owners for their personal economic gain,
aspects and symbols of one's culture can be commodified and
therefore devalued or made profitable throughout
society. Cultural Capitol is a theme introduced in 1977 by
French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu that speaks to the ways in
which cultural aesthetics (dress, language, music, art, intellect,
etc.) of the dominant class are commodified in exchange for
success or access to resources. Often times the resources
gained by the dominant class are cultural and not original to
them. The intersection of race and class in the United
States shows that non-white citizens are subjected to
marginalization and more likely to experience poverty. Because
of this marginalization the ability to then commodify one's
distinct culture for capitol gain is also repressed while the
dominant class extracts profitable aspects of another's culture.
The expectations for the academic achievement or
success of students who come from a working
class background typically encourages students
from these backgrounds to gain technical/trade
skills and aspire to remain a part of the working
class believing that they will eventually be able to
ascend class barriers and gain upward mobility,
though not likely. In contrast, students coming from
an upper-middle class background are inherently
taught to remain a part of the bourgeoisie and
perpetuate a system that marginalizes others who
are unable to adhere to the accepted norms,
ideologies and practices of the dominant class.
America’s ethnic landscape also
includes a rapidly growing Arab
population, a sizeable Jewish
population, and other ethnic groups.
But in the 1990s, the term “minority”
usually refers to four major racial and
ethnic groups: African Americans,
American Indians and Alaska Natives,
Asians and Pacific Islanders, and
Hispanics.
Global Stratification and Inequality
Global stratification compares the wealth,
economic stability, status, and power of
countries across the world. Global stratification
highlights worldwide patterns of social
inequality.
In the early years of civilization, hunter-
gatherer and agrarian societies lived off the
earth and rarely interacted with other societies.
When explorers began traveling, societies
began trading goods, as well as ideas and
customs.
The Industrial Revolution also saw the rise of vast
inequalities between countries that were
industrialized and those that were not. As some
nations embraced technology and saw increased
wealth and goods, others maintained their ways;
as the gap widened, the nonindustrialized nations
fell further behind. Some social researchers, such
as Walt Rostow, suggest that the disparity also
resulted from power differences. Applying a
conflict theory perspective, he asserts that
industrializing nations took advantage of the
resources of traditional nations. As industrialized
nations became rich, other nations became poor
(Rostow 1960).
Sociologists studying global
stratification analyze economic
comparisons between nations.
Income, purchasing power, and
wealth are used to calculate global
stratification. Global stratification also
compares the quality of life that a
country’s population can have.