Unit 2B - Inequality (20) Flashcards
(21 cards)
Barron & Norris (1976)
Dual Labour Market Theory
The Labour market is divided into primary & secondary sections:
Primary - Relatively high pay & job security < promotional ladder based on skills and qualifications
Secondary - Unskilled/ semi-skilled work involving low levels of pay & job security
White men dominate primary labour market; minorities concentrated in secondary labour market
Engles & Marx
Reserve Army of Labour
[Marxist]
Used to describe the ranks of the unemployed who are prepared to work for very low wages in temporary jobs
Serves the interests of the bourgeoisie and exploits members of the proletariat
Working-class - fired in slumps/hired in peaks (helps to keep wages low)
Becker
Labelling Theory
No act has inherent deviance in it; it becomes deviant when people label it as such < social reaction
Individuals subconsciously notice how others see or label them, and their reactions to those labels over time form the basis of their self-identity
Murray
Dependency Culture
[New Right]
Welfare state undermines individual responsibility and traps claimants within the benefit system with little or no incentive to escape
Claimants adopt a subculture of norms & values that make it difficult to return ot work
Creates and underclass which are not self-sufficient
Class -
Work & Employment
Lower-class people are likely to be in lower status jobs
Lower status jobs lack:
- Pay
- Status, perks
- Job security
Class -
Poverty
Trussell Trust - massive increase in food poverty from 2,600 in 2008 to 4.7 million in 2014 < dramatic increase in use of food banks
Relative poverty - (PSE 2012 study) major rise; 33% 2012 compared to 14% 1983
Class -
Life Chances (health/education)
Rowntree & child poverty action - poor housing affects people’s life chances e.g physical/mental problems, educational underachievement, reduced life expectancy & social exclusion
Health -
Marmot - ‘health gradient’; the lower class a person is, the worse their health - greater stress levels, higher blood pressure & depression
Wilson & Picket - Life expectancy for men is 78 in middle class areas and 76 in poor areas
Education -
Fair Education Alliance - argue poorer students face the ‘class ceiling’
Class -
Social Mobility
3% of richest have mothers with no qualifications - compared with 46% of the poorest
Roberts (2001) - 55% of men originating in working-class stayed in that class
Gender -
Work & Employment
Women:
Oxfam International -
- Low wages; women earn 23% less than men globally
- Rights; 30,000 women sacked for being pregnant & 440,000 women lose out on pay or promotion due to pregnancy
- Time; men work 39 hours a week, 34 for women
- Chant (2011) - ‘time poverty’
- Hochschild (1989) - ‘the second shift’
Men:
Mac an Ghaill (1994) - ‘crisis in masculinity’; lack of identity due to social & economic change/ growing equality of women
Risk; 95& of those killed at work are men
Benatar (2012) - least desirable & most dangerous jobs are done by men
Gender -
Income & Wealth
UK Feminsits:
- 70% of people in national minimum wage jobs are women
- For each year a mother is absent from the workplace, her future wages will reduce by 5%
- Income of retired men is less than 40% of that of retired men
A fair deal for women:
- 1 in 4 women are in low paid & insecure work compared to 1 in 7 men
- Over a lifetime, females earn 50% less than males
Gender -
Poverty
Women’s budget group:
Mothers frequently go without food, clothing & warmth in order to protect children (and partners) from full impact of inaqequate income
Gender -
Life Chances (health/education)
Health:
- Females live 4 years longer than men
- Men develop heart disease 10 years earlier
- Men are more likely to be alcohol (80%) or drug (69%) dependent
- Women are more likely to have long term ill health, disabilities or to be diagnosed with depression; live longer but are less healthy
Education:
- Females do as well or better than men in educational achievement; 1/3 more women in higher education
- Girls are better at GCSE with 73% (girls) and 64% (boys) getting grades A-C (2014)
Gender -
Social Mobility
Li and Devine:
Women are less likely to be upwardly mobile & more likely to be downwardly mobile than men
Ethnicity -
Work & Employment
BBC (2004):
CVs for 6 fictious candidates, given traditionally white/ black african/ muslim names - sent to 50 companies. All aplicants had same qualification & experience. 25% of white named offered interviews/ 13% black african/ 9% muslim
ONS (2007):
Black person 3x more likely to be out of work than a white person
Ethnicity -
Income & Wealth
ONS (2014):
2/5 of people from ethnic minorities live in low income households, 2x the rate of white people
National Equality Panel:
White households’ median wealth = £221,000
Bangledeshi = £15,000
Flaherty (2004):
Pakistanis and Bangledeshis 3x more likely to be in poorest 5th of population. Unemployment likely to be 5x higher
Ethnicity -
Life Chances
Education:
Department for education & skills:
25% of Asian/ black pupils in mainly white schools had experienced racist name calling - 1/3 had verbal abuse
Wright (1992):
Research on Asian pupila shows evidence of teacher labelling. Teachers assumed the children would have a poor grasp of English. They mispronounced children’s names
Ethnicity -
Social Mobility
Heath & Li:
Minority ethnic groups had significantly lower upward mobility rates (34% men, 27% women) than white people (43% men, 45% women)
Age -
Work & Employment
IDPR:
Despite falls in unemployment, there are still high numbers among young people & many are trained for jobs that are not available
MORI:
Old people suffer discrimination at work, 38% of discrimination cases since 2006 deal with age
Jones et al (2010):
Retirement is now a ‘lifestyle choice’, a time of creative renewal & freedom
Age -
Income & Wealth
Scase & Scales (2000):
Due to the reduction of state pension benefits, poorer OAPs may have to continue working past retirement age
National Minimum Wage:
legal to pay young people less for doing the same job
Age -
Poverty
CPAG:
1/3 of children in the UK are living in relative poverty in 2013
Help the Aged (2008):
Almost a 1/3 of all elderly individuals are living in poverty in the UK (1 in 4)
Age -
Life Chances
Health:
Young -
NCB:
Poverty has negative impacts on first 5 years of a child’s health & development. 10% of children starting school are obese. 25% of 5yr olds have tooth decay
Youth (Children’s Society):
20% of young people experience mental health problems, 70% are not treated fast enough
Old -
Gentleman (2009): A day in a care home is marked by ‘eating or taking medicine’ - old people are ‘left by families to die’
NHS: 1 in 5 older people experience depression
Rauch ‘Happiness Curve’: Oldest & youngest are the most happy
