Causes Of Social-Economic inequality Flashcards
What are 5 causes of social-economic inequality?
- Lack Of Education
- Low pay
- homelessness
- unemployment
- social class
- discrimination
Long Term Unemployment
-A person who is classified as unemployed is capable of work, actively seeking work and available to work.
A person who lives on benefits will have a low income. The Jobseekers Allowance for a person aged 25 or over can be up to £73.10 a week.
According to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, a single person needs to earn at least 60% of the average wage (before tax) for a minimum acceptable living standard. In 2017, the average wage in the UK was £27,271.
Long term unemployment can affect a person’s mental health, confidence and self-esteem. Long term unemployment can also lead to debt, an unhealthy diet and poor physical and mental health.
Low pay
The National Living Wage introduced by the Conservative government for an adult over 25 is £7.83 per hour. Jobs in catering, cleaning and in the caring sector are often paid at minimum wage but do not lift a person out of poverty. In some ways, it’s harder to be low paid than unemployed, as the person may not be entitled to the same benefits the unemployed are. One in five referrals to Trussell Trust foodbanks are for people who are in employment.
Critics of the UK government believe the National Living Wage is not sufficient. The Living Wage Foundation believes the rate should be £9.00 for the UK and £10.55 for workers in London. Between the 1st of April 2014 and the 31st of March 2015, Trussell Trust foodbanks saw 1,084,604 donations of three days of emergency food supplies given to people in crisis. (Source: Trussell Trust)
Lack of education
Education can have a positive impact on a person’s prosperity. As our economy becomes more technologically based, the well-paid jobs in society are increasingly only open to those with relevant skills and good qualifications.
A particular issue in the UK is the number of 16 to 24 year olds who are not in education, employment or training (NEETS). Around 853,000 people aged 16-24 were NEET in the period from October-December 2015. Although this figure was down by 110,000 from October-December 2014, people who are NEET remains at a high level.
Homelessness
Although those who are homeless are entitled to benefits, it is difficult to find a job when there is no address to return applications to. It is not easy to prepare for an interview without space, facilities to wash and privacy. It’s also hard to even know if there are jobs available when day to day survival is the priority.-
Social Class
In affluent areas of Glasgow average life expectancy is 10 years higher than that of Scotland’s poorest areas. In poorer places there is generally less employment, a poorer diet and a lack of facilities. This is replicated across all cities of the UK, with deprived areas experiencing shorter life expectancy than richer areas.
There are wide inequalities in exam passes between schools with different social class intakes. Family pressure for those living in better off areas is more likely to be about doing well in school, whereas in poorer areas parents have often been unsuccessful at school themselves and find it difficult to help or encourage their children to succeed at school. Often boys living in poor areas under achieve the most as peer pressure does not encorage them to succeed.
Gender inequality
-In 2017 the pay gap in the UK between men and women for full time workers (median wage) is 9.1% and in Scotland it is 6.6%. In their 30s in the UK women earn 2% less than men and 13.7% in their 40s. In Scotland women in their 30s earn more than men but over the age of 40 the pay gap swings against women again.
In part time work in the UK women actually earn 5.1% more than men. In their 30s part time women earn 7.8% more than men and 0.2% more in their 40s. (Sources: Office for National Statistics, Equal Pay Portal).
Women are still seen by society as the primary carers of children and are often more attracted to caring jobs than men. Due to gender stereotyping, men are often reluctant to apply for jobs that involve looking after children or older people. There are for example many more female than male primary teachers in Scotland with 90% compared to 10%. It is better but still unequal in the secondary sector where there are 63% females and only 37% males.
Society in general puts a lower economic value on the contribution of carers than it does for positions in finance where men are most likely to be found. Jobs such as carers and those in cleaning, catering, cashiering and clerical are usually referred to as ‘5c’ jobs.
Overwhelmingly female, they are often part-time and lack job security and other attractive features such as paid holidays and company pension plans. Six million women in the UK work part-time, which equates to 40% of all women who work. Women are also far more likely to work as unpaid carers, looking after relatives.
Racial Discrimination
-The main ethnic minorities in the UK have family backgrounds in Commonwealth countries such the Indian sub-continent, the West Indies and parts of Africa. Most non-white Britons were born in this country.
Catering worker washing up a large saucepanCatering worker washing up large saucepan
However, despite Race Relations Acts, non-white citizens still encounter discrimination and even hostility. On average they have lower incomes, higher unemployment and are more likely to live in overcrowded accommodation than the white majority.
Although the law forbids racial discrimination ethnic minorities are more likely to live in poverty. Despite this in Scotland they do well in education with people of African, Caribbean, Indian, Pakistani and Chinese background out performing white pupils at National 4, 5 and Higher level. In the UK as a whole more minorities got to university than whites.
The problem for minorities start after graduation being much less likely to be employed and likely to be earning less money if they are employed. Despite this minorities in the UK are more likely to work in the professions than whites. The last census showed that 10.3% of minorities worked in the top professional jobs compared to 9.8% of whites. In particular minorities dominate some particular professions e.g. 50% of dentists and 44% of doctors.
Cultural factors such as religion and language can make it harder for some groups to gain employment or participate in some aspects of UK society. There are also differences between ethnic minorities. Some Asian groups, such as Indians and Chinese, tend to be better off than Afro-Caribbeans as they are more likely to own businesses and have professional qualifications.
Black Lives Matter protest, London, 6 August 2016
