Our world is rich and diverse, full of people with different identities and interesting stories to tell. Unfortunately, sometimes our differences can be used to set us apart in negative ways.
Here, we'll be exploring the different dimensions of inequality that sociologists analyse regarding the identity markers of social class, age, ethnicity, gender, and disability.
- In this article we will be exploring:
- The meaning of inequality and the types of inequality experienced.
- Dimensions of gender inequality, dimensions of economic inequality, and dimensions of racial and ethnic inequality.
- We will also look at age and disability discrimination.
Meaning of inequality
There are various ways of approaching the concept of inequality as it applies to different social, cultural, and political contexts.
Fig. 1 - People from different backgrounds have varying degrees of access to resources and opportunities.
Defining inequality
According to the Cambridge Dictionary of Sociology (p.286), inequality is defined as...
…the unequal distribution of opportunities, rewards and power among and between individuals, households and groups".
Types of inequality
In sociology, there are two main questions concerning the distribution of inequality:
Of course, scholars from different fields will have different opinions on which types of inequality are more prominent than others. Generally, the following types of inequality are closely studied:
- income
- wealth
- occupations
- health
- status, and
- legal and social rights.
The study of inequalities is an important topic within the subject of stratification and differentiation.
It is imperative to note that social stratification and social inequality are not the same! Stratification refers to the idea that inequalities are built into societal structures. Inequality refers specifically to the uneven distribution of resources and opportunities.
This distinction is important because it impacts how sociologists theorise the relationship between the two concepts. The big theoretical question here concerns the causes and effects of these processes: does inequality cause social stratification, or is it just a way of statistically classifying inequality?
Studying the dimensions of inequality is a solution to this sociological problem.
What are the dimensions of inequality in sociology?
Besides highlighting the various types of existing inequalities, examining how they operate differently across multiple dimensions is important. Inequality can be caused by discrimination, and we will look at that below. Let's explore the explanations of differences in life chances across the multiple dimensions of inequality.
The Cambridge Dictionary of Sociology (p.338) defines life chances as
"the access that an individual has to valued social and economic goods such as education, health care or high income".
We will go through each dimension of inequality in turn.
However, you should note that the following section covers the dimensions of inequality in overview only - you'll find separate explanations on each of the dimensions (social class, ethnicity, gender, age and disability) that go into the topic in greater detail.
Dimensions of economic inequality
Fig. 2 - It is important to consider the combined impact of cultural inequalities when examining the causes and effects of differential life chances.
Karl Marx and Max Weber paved the way for the study of inequality by social class. They believed that economic and status inequalities (in the form of their relationship to the means of production) characterise modern society - that a person's life chances are structurally determined by their class position.
Marx and Weber on economic inequality
However, Weber criticised Marx's economic determinism, highlighting that other aspects of social life are also deeply influential in shaping a person's life chances. Marxist and Weberian approaches have been extended to examine the impact of ethnicity, gender, age and disability upon people's experiences of health, education and work.
Other perspectives of economic inequality
John Westergaard and Henrietta Resler (1976) stated that economic ownership is the source of power in society - and the reason the ruling class can maintain so much power is that the state protects its interests through legislation (such as property laws).
David Lockwood (1966) extends this view and highlights the symbolic dimension of social class identification. Lockwood believes that people assign themselves to social classes based on their relative experiences with power.
Dimensions of racial and ethnic inequality
Many scholars criticise Marxism for its reductionism because it does not consider the impact of other cultural inequalities both with and upon economic factors.
Racial inequalities of health
The distribution of health and illness is closely correlated with structural matters of wealth and poverty. Many studies have found that ethnic minorities have poorer health than the White population in Britain. This is due to the established link between having an ethnic minority background and being more likely to experience social deprivation and poverty and racial prejudice from individuals and systems.
African-Caribbean youth are very likely to approach mental health services - but this is mainly because they are put in touch through the criminal justice system, which disproportionately targets ethnic minorities.
Racial inequalities of education
Many studies have found that ethnic minorities generally tend to score relatively low GCSE grades due to poor family and living conditions. However, ethnic minority students consider their parents' experiences of discrimination and disadvantage as a sign that they need to work very hard to achieve similar prospects to their White peers. This makes ethnic minority groups, such as Pakistani and Bangladeshi students, much more likely to complete their A-Levels and university degrees.
Despite this, they are still more vulnerable to poverty and unemployment in the future.
Racial inequalities of work
Miles (1980) states that implications for chances exist in terms of social class and ethnicity. He posits that ethnic minorities are subjected to discriminatory treatment regardless of their position in the class system.
Similarly, Rex and Tomlinson's (1979) study of Handsworth, Birmingham concluded that ethnic minority groups make up a large proportion of the working-class population, resulting in differential life chances.
Tariq Modood and Nabil Khattab (2015) found that ethnic minorities pre-emptively avoid expected workplace discrimination through strategies like self-employment. So, labour market differences by ethnicity can be attributed both to discrimination itself and to people's responses to it.
Dimensions of gender inequality
By the very nature of patriarchy, women generally have fewer life chances than men. However, it is important to note that there are within-group differences, too, in that some women have better life chances than other women and other men (taking into account factors of social class, ethnicity, and more).
Gender inequalities of health
Across all social classes, women are more likely to have health insurance than men. However, this is not indicative of overall equality. In fact, in the United States, women pay more for their premiums per month, as gender discrimination against insurance policy owners remains legal across most states.
While men generally have lower life expectancies, women are statistically more likely to suffer from non-terminal, long-term illnesses.
Gender inequalities of education
Sue Sharpe (1976, 1994) studied young schoolgirls' aspirations in education, work and marriage. In the first study, their priorities involved marriage and love, with 'career' being placed relatively low on their lists. However, in 1996, schoolgirls' aspirations were more inclined to a career and financial independence.
Jon Swain's (2006) study on Masculinities in Education is one of many that reveals that the educational environment is much better suited to female socialisation and behaviours. Teachers tend to have lower expectations from male students, and when these are not fulfilled, they tend to punish them instead of helping them. This often results in schoolboys reacting negatively, joining anti-school subcultures and falling behind on their academics.
Gender inequalities of work
R. D. Barron and G. M. Norris (1976) suggest the existence of a dual labour market, which consists of two interrelated but separate employment sectors:
- The primary sector involves high-security, high-skill work with opportunities for career advancement.
- The secondary sector involves low-security and relatively semi or unskilled work with high levels of turnover and little opportunity for career advancement.
Barron and Norris (1976) point out that men are mostly employed in the primary sector, while women primarily work in the secondary sector. Women are more likely to accept lower pay, as they require a degree of flexibility to manage both work and expressive household responsibilities (such as child-rearing).
Age discrimination
Ageism impacts both the young and the elderly in different ways. This signals the occurrence of intragenerational mobility. It is difficult to examine the different types of inequality in conventional ways for the dimension of age.
Intragenerational mobility refers to changes in an individual's social status throughout life. For example, someone with a lower-class background in childhood might do very well in school and earn a middle-class job when they grow up.
Take note of the difference between intragenerational and intergenerational mobility. The latter refers to differences in social class positions taken by family members across multiple generations.
Philippe Aries (1962) suggested that childhood is a social construction and a product of industrialisation and modernisation. In pre-industrial society, children who were no longer physically dependent were treated no differently than their parents in terms of work, censorship or punishment from the law. Nowadays, young children are likely to experience major inequalities, with little to no opportunities to defend themselves.
Increasing life expectancies have implications for society's dependency ratio, and many worry that the ageing population will result in an increased burden on healthcare systems in the future.
Sociologists see an elderly individual's health status as a reflection of their life experiences thus far. This is proven by statistics showing that those with lower social status are likely to age with more health problems and a lower life expectancy.
Moreover, financial shocks from the past decade mean pensions are less and less adequate. Many older people find it necessary to extend their working lives. However, they also face the problem of intergenerational disentitlement, in which older people are less likely to be trained, promoted or hired than younger workers.
Talcott Parsons (1942) states that cutting ties from their jobs means that the elderly often also cut ties with society more broadly. This is because work provides a sense of residence and status within a particular community, resulting in the elderly becoming isolated from occupational and kinship ties once retired.
Disability discrimination
Fig. 3 - For sociologists, disability cannot be reduced to biological or medical terms.
From a sociological perspective, disability is a combination of the biology of the injury and the social, economic, and political experience that goes with it.
Ramune Adomaitiene (1999) claims that those with disabilities face a lack of facilities, unequal access to important resources, and institutional discrimination in education, welfare, media, the workplace, and more. This discrimination is referred to as ableism.
Merriam-Webster defines ableism as "discrimination or prejudice against individuals with disabilities".
Vic Finkelstein (1993) theorises that the life chances of people with disabilities have a lot to do with how they identify themselves. He states that when people with disabilities see themselves as suffering due to impairment, the call for assistance becomes normalised.
However, when people with disabilities see themselves as suffering due to discrimination resulting from their impairment, measures for equality of opportunity become more normalised.
Disabled inequalities of health
There is evidence that people with disabilities face significant discrimination within the healthcare system.
As is the case with other dimensions of inequality, illnesses are often downplayed by medical health professionals when it comes to minority groups. As such, people with disabilities often experience health disparities not because of their condition, but because of the inherent, unrecognised ableism of individuals and institutions.
Disabled inequalities of education and work
Tom Shakespeare (2005) reports that schooling is insufficient for people with disabilities to gain the qualifications required for higher education and employment.
Another common occurrence is that, even if they do obtain their degrees, people with disabilities are often deterred from advancing in their careers due to discrimination from employers. This discrimination is prevalent in many forms, including:
- a lack of anti-discrimination laws,
- issues of accessibility (such as wheelchair ramps),
- prejudiced hiring practices,
- lower performance expectations, and
- negative stereotypes.
Mike Oliver and Colin Barnes (2010) study the struggles that people with disabilities face in finding meaningful inclusion in the workplace. People with disabilities are much more vulnerable to poverty, as many only live on government disability support.
It's extremely important not to forget that the various dimensions of inequality intersect to create unique life chances and experiences. For example, a lower-class, white woman with a disability will be subject to very different life chances than an upper-class, Black man with no disability.
So, remember to consider that these social dimensions don't act alone - that experiences of inequality are complex and should be studied as such.
Dimensions of Inequality - Key takeaways
- Inequality is the unequal distribution of resources and opportunities in a given society.
- Ethnic minorities experience higher levels of poverty and are therefore subjected to poorer levels of health, lower educational outcomes, and vulnerability when it comes to poverty and unemployment.
- Women face higher healthcare charges and are more likely to suffer from non-fatal, chronic conditions. While girls tend to perform better than boys at school, they do not enjoy the same freedoms in the workplace. This is a result of the dual burden of housework and career.
- The elderly have to work longer to sustain themselves, but are vulnerable to unemployment as young workers are generally preferred.
- People with disabilities face ableism in healthcare, education, and work - resulting in lower performance expectations, lower likelihood of career advancements, and increased vulnerability to poverty.
References
- Turner, B. (2006) The Cambridge Dictionary of Sociology (p.338) https://cdchester.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Bryan-S.-Turner-The-Cambridge-Dictionary-of-Sociology-Cambridge-University-Press-2006.pdf
Explanations 
Exams 
Magazine 
