Social inequality refers to relational processes in society that have the effect of limiting or harming a group’s social status, social class, and social circle.
Areas of social inequality include access to voting rights, freedom of speech and assembly, the extent of property rights, and access to education, health care, quality housing, traveling, transportation, vacationing, and other social goods and services.
Apart from that, it can also be seen in the quality of family and neighborhood life, occupation, job satisfaction, and access to credit.
If these economic divisions harden, they can lead to social inequality. The reasons for social inequality can vary but are often broad and far-reaching.
Social inequality can emerge through a society’s understanding of appropriate gender roles, or through the prevalence of social stereotyping.
Social inequality can also be established through discriminatory legislation.
Social inequalities exist between ethnic or religious groups, classes, and countries making the concept of social inequality a global phenomenon.
Social inequality is different from economic inequality, though the two are linked.
Social inequality refers to disparities in the distribution of economic assets and income as well as between the overall quality and luxury of each person’s existence within a society, while economic inequality is caused by the unequal accumulation of wealth; social inequality exists because of the lack of wealth in certain areas prohibits these people from obtaining the same housing, health care, etc. as the wealthy, in societies where access to these social goods depends on wealth.
Social inequality is linked to racial inequality, gender inequality, and wealth inequality.
The way people behave socially, through racist or sexist practices and other forms of discrimination, tends to trickle down and affect the opportunities and wealth individuals can generate for themselves.
The major examples of social inequality include the income gap, gender inequality, health care, and social class. In health care, some individuals receive better and more professional care compared to others. They are also expected to pay more for these services.
Extreme inequality is out of control. Hundreds of millions of people are living in extreme poverty while huge rewards go to those at the very top. There are more billionaires than ever before, and their fortunes have grown to record levels. Meanwhile, the world’s poorest got even poorer.
Many governments are fueling this inequality crisis. They are massively under-taxing corporations and wealthy individuals, yet underfunding vital public services like healthcare and education.
These policies hit the poor hardest. The human costs are devastating, with women and girls suffering the most. Despite their huge contribution to our societies through unpaid care work, they are among those who benefit the least from today’s economic system.
This has to change – and change is possible.
1. Lining the pockets of the world’s billionaires. The very top of the economic pyramid sees trillions of dollars of wealth in the hands of a very small group of people, predominantly men, whose fortune and power grow exponentially. Billionaires have now more wealth than the 4.6 billion people who make up 60 percent of the planet’s population. Meanwhile, around 735 million people are still living in extreme poverty. Many others are just one hospital bill or failed harvest away from slipping into it.
2. Wealth undertaxed. While the richest continue to enjoy booming fortunes, they are also enjoying some of the lowest levels of tax in decades – as are the corporations that they own. Instead, taxes are falling disproportionately on working people. When governments undertaxed the rich, there’s less money for vital services like healthcare and education, increasing the amount of care work that falls on the shoulders of women and girls.
3. Underfunded public services. At the same time, public services are suffering from chronic underfunding or being outsourced to private companies that exclude the poorest people. In many countries, a decent education or quality healthcare has become a luxury only the rich can afford. It has profound implications for the future of our children and the opportunities they will have to live a better and longer life.
4. Denied a longer life. In most countries having money is a passport to better health and longer life, while being poor all too often means more sickness and an earlier grave. People from poor communities can expect to die ten or twenty years earlier than people in wealthy areas. In developing countries, a child from a poor family is twice as likely to die before the age of five than a child from a rich family.
5. Inequality is sexist. With less income and fewer assets than men, women make up the greatest proportion of the world’s poorest households, and that proportion is growing. They are more likely to be found in poorly paid and precarious employment, supporting the market economy with cheap or free labor. They are also supporting the state through billions of hours of unpaid or underpaid care work, a huge but unrecognized contribution to our societies and economic prosperity.
A fairer world is possible
The growing gap between rich and poor is undermining the fight against poverty, damaging our economies, and tearing our societies apart. Yet inequality is not inevitable – it is a political choice. Governments around the world must act now to build a new, human economy that values what truly matters to society, rather than fueling an endless pursuit of profit. An economy that values the care work of women and girls instead of billionaires’ wealth. An economy that works for everyone, not just a fortunate few.
Forwarded from oxfam.
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