Social Class Divide As A Report By The Equality And Human Rights Commission

Although different societies have varying perceptions of what is an acceptable level of equity, it is generally accepted that inequality has an impact on key social determinants such as health, wellbeing, political trust and violence. Wilkinson and Pickett (2009) highlight the social costs of inequality on a whole range of aspects of our lives. Wilkinson and Pickett (2009) argue that if inequality were reduced, there would be significant reductions in mental illness, murder rates, imprisonment and an improvement in social mobility (Wilkinson and Pickett, 2009).

In this assignment I will be explaining the concept of an unequal society, be describing social inequalities that exist in society, also I will be discussing the impact of social inequalities on groups in society. Finally I will evaluate the impact of social inequalities in society.

|inequality between gender and class and also, the extent of poverty in the current British context. I will also cover causes of |

The term ‘social problem’ refers to certain problems that are socially recognised by society and are felt to threaten certain values cherished by the public. This essay will investigate the different types of poverty that occur in the U.K and will explore the sociological arguments as to how poverty links with social problems such as social exclusion, gender discrimination in the work place, lone-parenting and disability and look at how these problems are perceived in today’s society.

Unemployment is seen as one of the possible reasons for the increase in poverty rates, despite the increase in welfare payments. Whilst it is likely that this startling increase in unemployment levels is partly responsible for the increase in poverty, it still

This essay question asks to discuss some of the ways in which differences and inequalities persist over time. Thus demonstrating that they are not fixed, but forever changing, being caused in diverse ways by society. The essay will first define ‘Inequality’ and ‘Differences’. It will then use two strands, ‘Making Lives’ and ‘Ordering Lives’ to discuss how they persist and will look at some differences and inequalities within, wealth, homelessness, law, and class. Concluding the whole world is effected by continuing inequalities and differences, which is only getting worse.

Class division has existed throughout time, both in its range of meaning and complexity of describing social division. The modern implications of class can be seen as a general word for groups or group distribution that has become more common. Rebecca Harding Davis’s short story Life in the Iron Mills, together with Raymond Williams’s entry Class delineates the oppressed lower class in a vivid and moving way, exemplifying the impact of social divisions on oppressed working labourers. Davis “embodies a grim, detailed portrayal of laboring life” (Pistelli 1) with an articulate correlation of Williams’s entry Class, structuring her narrative and focus of attention on gender, industrialization, immigration, and social divide. This essay

As we can see though income is a major contributor to poverty, when children are born the parents have a hard decision to make whether to return to work or stay at home. Either one of these decisions though has a negative consequence on the family’s budget, be it higher expenses or less income. A lot of people think that claiming benefits will help them make up the short fall in wages but this isn’t the case. In reality, benefits are set at levels that leave recipient’s living below the poverty line. In 2009/10 it was estimated that a family with one child claiming jobseekers allowance received only 65 per cent of the amount they required to live above the poverty line. (DWP, 2011.) This then has a knock on affect in other aspects of life. Parents have to decide whether feeding their children is more important than heating there home. It is estimated that 1.6 million children are growing up in homes which are too cold. (Barnardos, 2014.) Children growing up in poverty have it very hard not only do they grow up being cold and hungry they also miss out on activities at school and with friends.

The more you look into this subject in depth the more you see that there seems to be no way out of poverty even if the person is working in a full time job. The state of the nation report which was done by Alan Milburn suggests that work is no longer the way out of poverty because of the rise in day to day living which has been rising for many years, but the minimum wages has not being keeping up with this rise. Alan Milburn believe that to help with the minimum wage, the winter fuel allowance should be cut. He pointed out that pensioners are not affected by the down turn as much as younger people that are still working. This point was seen to be citizen heavily. Alan Miburn also say in the report that there should be more of a performance-related pay for teachers and many other jobs. The

Power, class and status are all interlinked to social and cultural capital in reinforcing inequality. People who have a low income and status, and belong to the working class tend to not have as many social networks and support as well as the cultural ‘taste’ and values as those who are able to afford much more than them. Skeggs (as cited in Watt 2008) points out how people with the working-class identity do not receive the social support like other ‘ordinary people’ in the

British society is split into hierarchical categories with “higher” “middle” and “lower working” class. The British class structure is shaped like a pyramid cut into three

Individuals within a society are grouped into certain rankings that is based on their wealth, income, race and education known as the social stratification. Sociologist use this to determine the social standings of individuals within a society. Social stratification can also appear in much smaller groups. These groups such as the work place, schools, and businesses can “take the form of a distribution of power and authority down the ranks”. (Cole, 2017) The Caste system is also another form of stratification that one does not get a choice in. They are born into it and regardless of their talents will hold positions that are given to them their whole life. Social mobility is the ability for individuals to move about their social standings.

Social stratification is a concept used within sociology that explains the divisions and social inequalities of large groups of people within a particular society. The Hunger Games (2012) is a film that demonstrates this through amplifying how the power of the rich members in a polarised society are taking control of the poor and separating them in different districts which create specific social rankings. This essay will use the perspective of conflict theory to examine how Australian society is also effected by social stratification and therefore divided in social classes which effects their access to social equalities.

The axis of inequality that will be focused throughout this paper is the social class. Social class is defined as a group of individuals who are categorized according to class (i.e. poor, middle, and upper) due to their income, wealth, power, and occupation. Social class is socially constructed by the way we view how much income and wealth a person possess (Ore, 20011a, 10). In reality it is much more than that. According to the text, poverty is not only the shortage of income, but it is the rejection of opportunities and choices that leads a person to a standard way of living (Ore, 2011a, 10). Stereotyping also contributes to it being socially constructed. These stereotypes influence us by defining who is who based on their principles in each class category. This can cause some to feel worthless.

Society holds many structures that mould human performance and produce opportunities for some, but inequalities for others (Morrall, 2009). These structures in society are organized by the hierarchies of class, ethnicity and gender (Crossman, 2016). Due to having a society based on hierarchies, social inequalities are inevitable. Social inequality refers to the ways in which a group or individual of a certain social position may receive unequal opportunities or distribution of ‘goods’ such as education, income, living conditions and healthcare (Walker, 2009). These unequal opportunities may be given to someone because of their ethnicity, gender, income, religion or social class (Walker, 2009). For example, people in a high social class will be able to pay for their children to go to a good private school for a good education, whereas lower-class or working class people will struggle to afford the same education.