Chapter 6 & 14 Flashcards
Post-WW2
- More jobs available
- Since 1951 increase of cost has continued
- Since the 1960s, a decline of men’s wages has occurred
Family Wage
In the 1950’s when a man got married or had a child he received a raise
Institutional Arenas (Cohen)
People’s roles in the family arena are strongly influenced by the actions of outside arenas, the state and the market.
Changing ideas about women’s roles in society
- Feminist movement
2. Birth control pill
Consequences of Changes in Women’s roles
Profound mark on families
Family division of work (2)
- Paid work
2. Unpaid work–> housework and care work
Domestic work
Activities the reproduce, support and sustain others
- labour that “makes a family”
- Gender inequalities
How much is unpaid work worth?
319 million annually (41% of the GDP)
Second Shift
Women’s movement into the labour force resulted in a “second shift”
*Unequal division of unpaid labour is at the heart of the gender pay gap
How do couples decide to split unpaid labour?
- Time availability
- Relative resources
- Gendered Expectations
Theory of Social Class (Structural Functionalist)
Inequality is necessary, it serves an essential function
Division of Labout
the social process of determining who does what work and for what rewards
Theory of Social Class (Conflict)
Inequality, and the DOL is the result of economic exploitation
Economic Exploitation
The process by which the labour os some produces wealth that is controlled by others
Life Chances
The practical opportunity to achieve desired material conditions and personal experiences
Social Capital
The access to resources people have by virtue of relationships and connections within a social network
An Elite Extended Family
Comes from a dense background of success. Provides a lot more high value resources that they can tap into. (Greater social capital and life chances)
-Substantial wealth passes from generation to generation
A working poor extended family
- very different jobs and education
- very different ocial capital and life chances
Social Class Networks
People tend to marry in the same social class as they are - Networks fo families are clustered into various social classes, and then once married you become linked to another family which is likely connected within the same social class
Exonomy
marrying outside
Endogomy
Marrying within
Class identity
The awareness of, and sense of belonging to, a specific social class
The (American) Class Structure
- Capitalist and Corporate Managerial Class (2.7%)
- Middle Class (42.4%)
- Working Class (47%)
- Lower Class (7.9%)
Present Inequality
Inequality is increasing between social classes
Gini Coefficient
A measure of inequality in which ) represents complete equality and 1 represents complete inequality
- It has risen to be closer to 1 in the States, We aren’t as bad but not great
Social Mobility
The movement, up or down between social classes
Class Persistence
The tendency for children to grow up to be in the same social class as their parents
Increasing Inequality
- At the Bottom: Keeping the poor from improving their lot
- In the middle: Divergent fortunes
- At the top: The New Superrich
Canada’s record on child and family poverty
- 1 in 7 persons live in poverty (2014)
* 1 in 5 children live in poverty
Absolute Poverty
an absolute/concrete measure determined by examining a bare minimums for survival
*Market Based Measure (MBM)
Relative
What is considered poor relative to what the social standards are for the average and wealthy
*Low Income Cut-off (LICO)
Measuring Poverty
Poverty’s effects depend on duration (low long) and depth (how far below the poverty line)
Tendency to blame the victim
- Focus on personal decisions and the individual
- Herbert Spencer and genetic “fitness”
- The culture of poverty thesis (Lewis, 1966)
Origins of Poverty
- Poverty as systemic or structural
- Discrimination, unequal opportunities in education, macro-level economic changes
- Social reproduction of poverty
Social Groups Vulnerable to Poverty
- Children
- Working poor
- Women
- People with Disabilities
- Indigenous, visible minority and Recent immigrants
- Seniors
Shrinking Middle Class
- The overall proportion of middle-income families has been reduced
- Average households have high debt and low savings
- High food and housing costs in urban areas
- Reliance of adult children on their parents for assistance
Poverty and Life Course
- Material and social conditions shape individual trajectories
- Those in poverty have poorer physical health and more frequent behavioural problems
- Children with economic advantages are more likely to achieve higher education, better paying/more secure employment
- Poor adults have higher morbidity, lower life expectancy
- More likely to work in dangerous jobs, live in unsafe neighbourhoods
- Higher risk of substandard housing or homelessness
- Negative effects on the formation and quality of intimate relationships
Paying People Out of Poverty
- Emergency shelter, medical care and law enforcement cost 4 times more than supportive housing
- Homeless patients cost hospitals on average $2559 more than the housed
- Guaranteed annual income would create savings in social services, health care and law enforcement
family work
includes all the tasks and activities required to maintain and reproduce families, such as child-rearing, child care and housework, as well as coordinating paid and unpaid activities
Ideology of separate spheres
relates to the idea that paid activity in the public sphere is viewed as “work” whereas activity in the private sphere tends to remain invisible and undervalued
Cult of domesticity
developed as the family lost its function as an economic unit; it supports the ideology that a woman’s place is in the home and she should therefore tend the “home, sweet home.”
gender ideology
a set of beliefs about men and women, and marital or partnership roles
Economic security
Standard of living that provides resources and benefits necessary for social and economic participation and social inclusion
Culture of poverty
a fatalistic set of values, behaviours, and attitudes that is not conductive to middle-class standards of financial or material success
