Stratification

• What are sources of inequality?

  Age, gender, ethnicity, social class
• What is the Registrar's General?

  This classification is based on your occupation and was used by the government between 1911 and 1988, manual jobs were seen as working class and non-manual were viewed as middle class
• What are the classifications in the Registrar's General?

  Professional occupation e.g. lawyers, managerial/ intermediate occupation e.g. journalists, hotel managers, non-manual skilled occupation e.g. clerk, secretary, manual skilled occupation e.g. carpenter, partly skilled manual occupation e.g. Security guard, unskilled manual occupation e.g. cleaners, refuse collector
• What are the problems with the Registrar General's Classification?

  Doesn't include people who don't work e.g. unemployed or retired, tells us nothing about wealth and property
• What replaced the Registrar General?

  The National Statistics Socio-Economic Classification ( NS-SEC )
• What classifications are part of the NS-SEC?

  Large employers and higher managerial and professional occupations e.g. senior officers in national government, lower managerial and professional occupations e.g. paramedics, intermediate occupations e.g. police officers, small employers e.g. hotel manager, lower supervisory and technical occupations e.g. bakers, semi-routine occupations e.g. dental nurses, routine occupations e.g. butchers, never worked/ long term unemployed
• Why is the NS-SEC better than the Registrar General?

  It includes people who don't work
• How does social class affect life chances?

  The Child Poverty Action Group (2016) argues that income and material deprivation have a significant effect on schooling outcomes: "Low income is a direct cause of reduced life chances", the Old Boys Network means rich people have connections that the working class do not so are exposed to better and more opportunities, research from Whos Who found alumni from 9 leading public schools are 94x more likely to reach the elite than those who attended other schools, the Marmot Review
• What was the Marmot Review?

  The Marmot Review 2010 found that life chances are linked to socio-economic positions and income. Those in higher positions have more and better opportunities and better health. It also concluded that health inequalities are a result of avoidable inequalities in society e.g. housing
• What are the types of social mobility?

  Intra-generational and inter-generational
• What are the routes to social mobility?

  Winning the lottery, marriage, inheritance, education
• What are the barriers to social mobility?

  Ethnicity, gender, lack of education
• What evidence is there that social class is less important than it used to be?

  Voting, shrinking working class, class identities weakened, embourgeoisement
• What evidence is there that social class still matters?

  Concern about class inequality and recent economic changes
• How has voting made social class less important than it used to be?

  In the past there was class alignment e.g. working class tended to vote Labour but more recently other factors have been more important e.g. age which is class de-alignment
• How has the shrinking working class shown that social class is not as important as it used to be?

  The working class has shrunk in size due to changes in work e.g. decline in factory jobs. There has also been a sharp decline in trade union membership
• How has class identities weakened shown that social class is no longer as important in society?

  Class is less important as one's identity. People often see themselves based on gender, ethnicity etc. rather than just their social class
• How have recent economic changes shown that social class still matters?

  Economic changes such as the recession and the introduction of zero hour contracts have made people more aware of class differences and class inequality
• How has occupy shown that social class still matters?

  Many people are concerned about the redistribution of wealth to the rich e.g. the richest 1% own half of the world's wealth so Marxists would argue that class inequality is the most significant issue in society today
• How has embourgeoisement shown that social class is no longer as important in society?

  Working class families are becoming more middle class in their norms and values which suggest the differences between middle and working class cultures are less stark
• How has the family changed from pre-industrial times?

  Pre-industrialisation the extended family networks were important e.g. aunt would be midwife but post-industrialisation the nuclear family formed which is more geographically mobile and more self contained
• What factors affect youth?

  Many young people are still financially dependent on their relatives into their 20s and beyond e.g. living at home whilst going to university so the transition to adulthood is not clear cut. Young people are not a uniform group and are divided according to gender, ethnicity, location, social class etc. These factors can influence transition into adulthood and life chances
• What is old age?

  Socially constructed. The status of old age differs between cultures e.g. in the UK it is something to be avoided whereas in South Asian countries it is respected
• How does The Equality Act 2010 prevent ageism?

  Age is a protected characteristic under The Equality Act 2010. The government can place negative sanctions when direct or indirect ageism occurs e.g. someone being fired for being too old
• What factors influence people's experience of old age?

  Wealth, gender, actual age
• Why are there inequalities because of ethnicity in the UK?

  Critical race theorists argue inequalities in the UK and USA between different ethnic groups arises from discrimination so as a result ethnicity affects the life chances of individuals and their access to power.
• What are the statistics about ethnicity and power?

  In 2015 13% of the UK population were from minority ethnic backgrounds but in terms of power this group is underrepresented among holders of political power, 26.2% of NHS staff were reported as being from a minority ethnic background compared with 18% of the economically active population, in September 2022, 23.9% of social workers in England were from a minority ethnic background with 13.3% from a Black background compared with 4% of the economically active population
• How do we know inequalities due to ethnicity are decreasing?

  In 1987 there were only 4 MPs from minority ethnic groups but in 2019 there were 66, the Prime Minister is an Indian man. However the cabinet is still mostly comprised of white people
• What initiatives are there to address ethnic inequalities?

  Race ( including ethnicity ) is a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010 which brought all legislation together in one act to protect people from unfair treatment and promote a more equal society, the Equality and Human Right Commission is one of Britain's national bodies and aims to tackle discrimination and promote more equal opportunities
• What is Occupy?

  An international socio-political movement which expresses opposition to social and economic inequality and to what they perceive as a lack of democracy across the world. They oppose the global power of the richest 1%. Many commentators agree that giant multinational corporations have too much power as they are able to influence government policies and avoid paying tax by exploiting loopholes on different countries' tax systems
• Why is the definition of absolute poverty criticised?

  It is difficult to determine the minimum needed to survive
• What kind of poverty do people in the UK experience?

  Relative poverty. This approach recognises that poverty is relative to time and place
• Why is age a key dimension of social stratification?

  Individuals at different life stages have different levels of access to resources, power and privilege
• What is apartheid?


  Apartheid in South Africa 1948-1994 was based on a government policy of racial segregation. Ethnicity was used as a basis of stratification. Apartheid applied to all aspects of society e.g. access to education was segregated based on race
• What is a statistic showing people from lower social class backgrounds have worse life chances?

  Those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds often have less access to quality education. According to a 2019 report by the Department for Education, only 16% of pupils eligible for free school meals in England achieved good passes in English and Maths GCSEs, compared to 75% of those not eligible.
• What is a statistic showing women have worse life chances?

  Gender pay gap continues to exist, limiting women's economic autonomy. As of 2021, the UK's gender pay gap was around 15.4% according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS)
• What is a statistic showing minority racial and ethnic backgrounds have worse life chances?

  Discrimination in hiring practices can affect job opportunities. Research by Nuffield, Colleges Centre for Social Investigation showed that minority ethnic applicants have to send 80% more applications to get a positive response from an employer compared to a white person of British origin
• What is a statistic showing older individuals have worse life chances?

  Ageism can affect employment opportunities. According to the Centre for Ageing Better, over a third of people aged 50 to 64 feel they have been discriminated against by employers because of their age.
• What is a statistic showing people with disabilities have worse life chances?

  People with disabilities often face barriers to employment. As of 2019, only 53.2% of working-age adults with disabilities were in employment, compared to 81.8% of working-age adults without disabilities, according to ONS data.
• What is a statistic showing minority religious groups have worse life chances?

  People from minority religious groups can face discrimination in various life aspects, including work. According to a 2019 report from the Muslim Council of Britain, only 19.8% of Muslims were in full-time employment, compared to 34.9% in the overall population.