- "Social inequality occurs when resources in a given society are distributed unevenly, typically through norms of allocation, that engender specific patterns along lines of socially defined categories of persons." - "The differentiation preference of access to social goods in the society is brought about by power, religion, kinship, prestige, race, ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientation, and class."
The pervasive and systematic barriers and discrimination faced by individuals or groups based on their social identities, perpetuated by societal institutions and structures.
Privilege: Acknowledging privilege is essential to understanding systemic inequality, as it is a key factor in the advantages and opportunities some people have over others due to their identity or social status.
Intersectionality: Understanding the intersections of various forms of oppression, such as racism, sexism, and homophobia, is crucial in recognizing how they work together and affect individuals differently.
Power and Oppression: Analyzing power dynamics and recognizing how they are utilized to maintain oppression and inequality is fundamental to fighting against systemic inequality.
Marginalization: Studying the experiences of marginalized groups - for example, women, minorities, and people with disabilities - can provide insight into the ways they have been and continue to be excluded from society.
Social Constructions of Identity: Examining how societal norms and expectations shape identity can help individuals understand how identities are linked to power structures and social inequality.
Stereotyping and Prejudice: Dissecting and challenging stereotyping and prejudice can help individuals recognize and combat the stereotypes and prejudices that fuel systemic inequality.
Cultural Competence: Acknowledging the role of culture and cultural differences in shaping social inequality is an essential ingredient in recognizing and addressing systemic inequality.
Systemic Racism: Examining how racism is interwoven into societal policies and cultural norms can provide insight into the pervasiveness of systemic inequality.
Feminist Theory: Understanding feminist theory can shed light on the ways gender inequality is established and perpetuated.
Postcolonialism: Exploring postcolonial theory illuminates how colonialism continues to affect various forms of systemic inequality.
Discrimination: Analyzing the various forms of discrimination, with an emphasis on the systemic forces that shape them, can provide insight into the ways inequalities are perpetuated.
Social Movements: Looking at the history and role of social movements can educate individuals about how systemic inequalities have been remedied, while also highlighting the need for contemporary activism.
Environmental Justice: Examining how environmental issues are linked to systemic inequality can enable individuals to recognize the intersectionality of systemic inequality.
Globalization: Analyzing globalization and its effects on marginalized communities can provide insight into how systemic inequality is perpetuated on a global scale.
Social Advocacy: Understanding advocacy skills and strategies is a helpful tool in combating systemic inequality.
Economic Inequality: Refers to the gap in wealth, income, and resources between various individuals or groups in a society. It can result from social and structural factors, discrimination, or exploitation.
Racial Inequality: Refers to the unequal treatment of individuals based on their race or ethnicity, such as discrimination, exclusion, marginalization, and bias. It can occur in various domains, including economic, social, educational, and political.
Gender Inequality: Refers to the unequal treatment between men and women in terms of resources, opportunities, and power. It can manifest in various aspects, such as education, employment, political representation, and domestic life.
Age Inequality: Refers to the unequal treatment of individuals based on their age, such as ageism, discrimination, and exclusion. It can impact different age groups, including children, youth, adults, and seniors.
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) Inequality: Refers to the unequal treatment of individuals based on their sexual orientation and gender identity, such as homophobia, transphobia, discrimination, and marginalization.
Disability Inequality: Refers to the unequal treatment of individuals with disabilities or impairments, such as ableism, discrimination, and exclusion. It can affect various aspects of life, including employment, education, housing, and social participation.
Health Inequality: Refers to the unequal treatment of individuals in terms of their health outcomes and access to healthcare services. It can result from various factors, such as socioeconomic status, race, gender, and geography.
Immigration Inequality: Refers to the unequal treatment of immigrants and refugees based on their legal status, nationality, race, or ethnicity. It can include discrimination, exclusion, and marginalization in various domains, such as employment, housing, education, and political representation.
Environmental Inequality: Refers to the unequal distribution of environmental harms and benefits based on social and structural factors, such as race, class, and geography. It can impact various communities, such as low-income neighborhoods, communities of color, and indigenous populations.
Cultural Inequality: Refers to the unequal treatment of cultural and linguistic minorities, such as discrimination, marginalization, and exclusion. It can manifest in various aspects of life, including education, media representation, and political participation.
- "It poses and creates a gender gap between individuals that limits the accessibility that women have within society."
- "Power, religion, kinship, prestige, race, ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientation, and class."
- "Social inequality is linked to economic inequality, usually described on the basis of the unequal distribution of income or wealth."
- "The social rights include labor market, the source of income, health care, and freedom of speech, education, political representation, and participation."
- "Although merit matters to some degree in many societies, research shows that the distribution of resources in societies often follows hierarchical social categorizations of persons to a degree too significant to warrant calling these societies 'meritocratic'."
- "Young was concerned that the Tripartite System of education being practised in the United Kingdom at the time he wrote the essay considered merit to be 'intelligence-plus-effort' and that it would create an educated middle-class elite at the expense of the education of the working class, inevitably resulting in injustice and eventually revolution."
- "In many cases, social inequality is linked to racial and ethnic inequality, gender inequality, and other forms of social status."
- "The most common metric for comparing social inequality in different nations is the Gini coefficient, which measures the concentration of wealth and income in a nation from 0 (evenly distributed wealth and income) to 1 (one person has all wealth and income)."
- "Two nations may have identical Gini coefficients but dramatically different economic (output) and/or quality of life, so the Gini coefficient must be contextualized for meaningful comparisons to be made."