Chapter 7 Social Inequalities Flashcards
What is social inequality?
The long-term existence of significant differences in access to goods and services among social groups.
Kimberle Williams Cremshaw and Patricia Hill Collins
Studied intersectionality-interactions of different social locations “matrix of domination”.
Class Consciousness
Awareness of what is in the best interest of one’s class (owner class always possesses this)
False Consciousness
Working class-belief that something is in it’s best interest when it is actually not.
Marx’s ideas of social inequality
Class is relational, reflects relationship to “means of production”.
Max Weber’s 3 elements of social inequality
Wealth, prestige, and power.
Class Reductionism
Occurs when a sociologist attributes all forms of oppression to class, downplays race, gender, age etc.
Strata
Units of analysis in stratified sampling (sample is drawn from each stratum/level of population)
Herbert Brown Ames
Engaged in Canadas first comprehensive urban sociological study promoting construction of affordable housing for working class Montreal.
Colin McKay
Was a working class intellectual.
Liberal Ideology
Views the individual as more or less an independent player on the sociological scene. Great deal of social mobility, blames individual for lack of success. Minimizes criticism of social inequality.
Antonio Gramsci
Critiqued dominant ideology. Co-founder and leader of Italian Communist Party, opposed Benito Mussolini. Developed “hegemony”
Hegemony
Non-coercive methods of maintaining power. Inequality exists not because of problems in the system but because some people are willing to work harder than others. Dominance over.
Living wage
Represents a target above the existing minimum wage which is considered too low for the working poor to live on.
Structural Functionalist Approach
Davis and Moore- Social inequalities are beneficial for the functioning of society. Egalitarian societies offer little incentive for people to try their best.
Which provinces had the highest and lowerst individual incomes in 2015?
Alberta and New Brunswick
Bombardier problem
3.72 million dollar loan-financial distress and government funding, yet CEO pay was increased and workers were laid off.
Absolute Poverty
Developing countries, no access to basic needs. Poverty that eventually leads to death.
Relative Poverty
Poverty in relation to rest of population.
Measures of Poverty
Absolute-basket of goods, how much on average would they cost, dollar amount needed to aquire.
Relative-Average family spending on 3 essential items vs average poor families spending-leftover cash is seen as disposable income.
What makes poverty more likely?
Age (children and the elderly), racialized people, feminized people (lone parents included). Povery affects 3 million Canadians and 20% are children.
What are the percentages of minimum wage earners?
Young (33% 15-19 years), Limited education (30%), Employed part time (56%), Permanent positions (72%), Female (57.5%).
Homelessness Trends
Per capita homeless rate is higher in Calgary than Toronto. Higher trends in the summer.
Intragenerational Mobility
Look at single generation and their social mobility.
Intergenerational Mobility
Compare multiple generations (compared to my parents, how am I doing?)
Structural Mobility
Increase of minimum wage by government lifts people into different social classes, out of their individual control.
Horizontal Mobility
People who are born wealthy/poor tend to stay that way-thus a horizontal mobility (changing position with class).
Vertical Mobility
Middle class, tend to move up or down on the social mobility scale.
