EVIDENCE - Class Flashcards
-WORK AND EMPLOYMENT 1
- Members of Britain’s elite, who hold the top jobs in politics, the judiciary, media and business, are five times more likely to have been to private school than the general population (Stutton Trust)
- privately educated people, many of whom went to Oxbridge, continue to dominate high-ranking jobs, where 39% had an independent education, compared with 7% of the general population.
- 65% of senior judges, 57% of members of the House of Lords, 59% of civil service permanent secretaries and 52% of Foreign Office diplomats come from a private school background.
- In the arts, 44% of top actors and 30% of pop stars went to independent schools.
WORK AND EMPLOYMENT 2
3
- Sutton trust: Britains elite are 5x more likely to have been to private school (2019) (Macintosh + Mooney, the upper classes make private school exclusive by having fees / not acsessiable to everyone). More social + cultural capital.
- 65% of senior judges went to private school.
- Report by resolution foundation think tank found that 77% of employees aged under 20 earned less than the living wage. (2013)
WORK AND EMPLOYMENT - WOMEN
In the UK, the gender pay gap was 14.4% with women earning less than men, however this gender pay gap is much bigger for working class women in areas such as retail work, hospitality, and care work where the gap can be as big as 25-30% (ONS).
54% of zero hour contracts are held by working class women.
In 2021, only 12% of young women from the most disadvantaged backgrounds attended university compared to 33% from more affluent backgrounds. Meaning that their lack of qualifications provide them with less life chances and opportunities in work and employment.
In the care sector, 83% of workers are women, and many are in low-paid precarious jobs with limited protections, aligning with the characteristics of reserve labour.
HEALTH
- 27% of people had considered going private, for themselves or a loved one, but decided against it, often because they couldn’t afford it (YouGov)
- “This option is available to those who can afford to pay, but excludes the vast majority of the population as over a third of people in the UK have less than £1,000 in cash to cover unexpected expenses, thereby increasing health inequalities,” (Dr John Puntis, The Guardian)
POVERTY
- 60% of low-paid workers have used a foodbank in the past year. (living wage foundation 2023)
- Trussel Trust 2023 - 2024: 3.1 million food parcels donated (families asking for food), this is the highest ever, it had doubled over the last 5 years. (There’s been an increase in absolute poverty). The W/C lost jobs during Covid, reliant on savings + more likely to go into debt.
AO3 - According to government stats, the percentage of children in absolute low income has gone from 26% in 2002/3 to 16% as of 2020/21 (this supports the arguement that the inequality is actually getting better, and benefits are working)
INCOME
- From 1971 to 2021, the top 0.01% of riches households have had an 541% income increase however the poorest 20% only had a 47% increase.
- High pay centre 2023: the FTSE (footsee)100 CEO’s earn the median annual salary (£29k approx) in 3.5 days.
(Indirect tax affects the working class more, because when people by petrol you’re taking a bigger percentage of the lower earning person’s salary then the upper class).
*SOCIAL MOBILITY
- Adults with lower working class parents are about 3 times as likely – 30% against 11% – to be in a
working-class occupation themselves compared with adults with higher professional parents. (state of the nation 2023) - Goldthorpe 1:2:4 rule of relavtive hope (theres more hope for the upper class to rise in social mobility then there is for lower class). (For every 1 W/C there’s 2 M/C and 4 U/C). Closed society + less meritocracy.
EDUCATION
- UK government 2022: biggest gap in GCSE grades between Free school meal and non-Free school meal kids. (Better results = better jobs. Less life chances. Better acsess to revision resources, labelling, bullying).
- An analysis of Department for Education data reveals that schools with the highest numbers of pupils on free school meals are facing the deepest funding cuts: in secondary schools with more than 40% of children on free school meals, the average loss per pupil will be £803.
WEALTH
- In 2020, the ONS calculated that the richest 10% of households hold 43% of all wealth. The poorest 50%, by contrast, own just 9%. The poorest 10% have negative wealth. (Life chances + inheritance. It may lead the working class into a false class consciousness). This argues against functionalism because they don’t earn their wealth.
- “Wealth affects physical and mental wellbeing, as it has also been argued that wealthy people become insulated from the lives of others, leading to a divide between rich and poor. The ability of wealthy people to gain greater political influence is a potential threat to democratic processes.” - Birmingham commission report.
Marxist arguements on class inequality
Marxists argue that the working class are exploited by the bourgoeisie for the means of production through massive fluctuations in the economy and discrimination in the workplace.
- Economic downturn has pushed a further 1.4 million employees below the Living Wage – the rate deemed necessary for a basic standard of living (Resolution foundation).
- Since 2016, the rates of zero hour contracts have increased from 2.5% to 3.5% (Uk parliment) - Reserve army of labour
Webarian arguements on class inequality
They argue that the working class have less life chances due to their lack of status in society.
- 65% of senior judges went to private school (Gov.uk)
- Lower social class groups represent 28% of the total entrants to full-time undergraduate study, a lower share than their 39% in the UK population as a whole (Institute for Employment Studies).
Marxist Feminist arguements on class inequality
They argue that working class women are doubly opressed as they suffer at the hands of capitalism and the patriarchy.
- Women carry out an overall average of 60% more unpaid work than men (ONS)
- The average full-time student does just 12 hours of unpaid work per week compared with the average mother on maternity leave, who does 60 (ONS)
Interactionist arguements on class inequality
Interactionists would argue that the working class gain labels which attract more police attention, and creating stigmatizations about being working class.
- Around 60% of prisoners were unemployed prior to their arrest (UK’s Ministry of Justice).
- Overall, 40% more crimes were recorded in the most income-deprived areas in 2023, compared to the least income-deprived 10% (Trust for London).
Functionalist arguements on class inequality
Functionalists argue that class inequality is essentail for society as the most skilled people should be doing the best paid jobs, and that hard work should equal talent. Meritocracies exist wooo!
- The percentage different in hourly earnings was 60% for those with higher degree’s but only 4% for those with no GCSE’s. (GOV.UK)
- Alan Sugar is a wealthy buisness man who grew up working class but climbed the social ladder with talent and hard work.
- Kier Starmer grew up extreemly working class and is now prime minister in the UK.
The new right arguements on class inequality
They argue that class inequality is due to the benefits system being too generous, to the point where there’s a lack of socialisation and NEETS who contribute nothing to society.
- An estimated 12.6% of all people aged 16 to 24 years in the UK were not in education, employment or training (NEET) in January to March 2024. (Institute of Employment Rights)
- Welfare spending is expected to increase from 58% of total universal credit and legacy spending in 2022-23 to 63% in 2023-24. (office for budget responsibility)
