Social Class Inequalities

Question 1

The Hope Goldthorpe Classification Scale

• 7 occupational classes

Answer 1

Developed by John Goldthorpe in order to undertake research into social mobility.

• Higher professionals (managers of large companies)
• Lower professionals ( higher - grade technicians)
• Routine non - manual workers ( sales)
• Small proprietors and self - employed ( craftsperson)
• Lower grade technician and supervisor of manual workers
• Skilled manual workers
• Semi - skilled and unskilled manual workers

Question 2

The National Statistics Socio - Economic Classification
(NS - SEC)

• 8 occupational classes

Answer 2

Used to classify people by social class in official statistics.

• Higher managerial and professional (doctors)
• Lower managerial and professional ( teachers)
• Intermediate ( secretaries)
• Small employer and own account worker (decorator)
• Lower supervisory, craft and related ( plumbers)
• Semi- routine (hairdressers)
• Routine ( cleaners)
• Long termed unemployed/ never worked

Question 3

Gordon Marshall et al. ( 1988)

Answer 3

Found that many people saw themselves as working class despite the fact that they were in non - manual or white - collar jobs that other sociologists would describe as middle class jobs.

Question 4

Problems with measuring wealth

Answer 4

• What is counted as wealth? e.g are state pensions included as wealth?
• Calculating the value of assets is difficult - prices of houses rising and falling
• Obtaining data on wealth is difficult - Wealthy people tend to hide their wealth to avoid taxation

Question 5

Are wealth inequalities based on meritocracy?

Answer 5

People with talent and those who save their money or invest prudently are rewarded by building up wealth e.g Lord Alan Sugar

Question 6

Social class inequalities in work and employment
- Poor market situation (Weber)

Answer 6

More privileged workers tend to be in more skilled and high-status occupations can argue for higher levels of pay. Workers who are less skilled have less bargaining power.

Question 7

Social class inequalities in work and employment
- Marxists

Answer 7

Argues that inequalities of income derive from the capitalist employers to keep wages down and profits up. Also suggests that key workers who run business enterprises on behalf of the owners are more highly rewarded because they act as the agents of the ruling class ensuring profitability of business.

Question 8

Financial rewards in terms of social class inequalities

Answer 8

Routine workers earn less but are less likely to enjoy pensions or longer paid holidays.

Question 9

Status in terms of social class inequalities

Answer 9

Differences in status reflect differences of income e.g different uniforms

Question 10

Power and control in terms of social class inequalities

Answer 10

Senior staff usually have more control in work e.g setting their working hours while more routine and lower paid workers are more controlled

Question 11

Opportunities for advancement in terms of social class inequalities

Answer 11

Professional jobs tend to receive training to move up their position . In manual and routine jobs, workers stay the same level

Question 12

Job satisfaction in terms of social class inequalities

Answer 12

Skilled workers have high levels of job satisfaction because they excercise a wider range of skills while routine jobs are more repetitive.

Question 13

Job security in terms of social class inequalities

Answer 13

Routine jobs are more likely to face job losses than skilled workers.

Question 14

Absolute poverty

Answer 14

The lack of basic essentials needed to survive e.g adequate food, clothing, housing and fuel.

Question 15

Jonathan Bradshaw (2008) + Evaluation

Answer 15

• Attempted to develop a budget standard of poverty. Tried to define the minimum acceptable income by calculating what is needed to afford an acceptable living standard based on items deemed as essential.
• Critics argue that absolute definitions only allow for a person’s physical needs and take no account of what is needed to participate in society.

Question 16

Relative poverty

Answer 16

Involves judging whether a person’s income is so far below everyone else’s that they are excluded from society.

Question 17

Joanna Mack and Stuart Lansley (1985)

Answer 17

• Asked a series of representative groups which items they regarded as a necessity.
• Items that were included as necessities by 50% or more of respondents were put on the list.
• Then they conducted a survey asking households how many of the necessities they had to go without.
• Household that lacked 3 or more necessities were considered poor and those who lacked 5 or more necessities were considered a severely poor.

Question 18

Intergernerational mobility

Answer 18

Mobility between generations.

E.g a man whose father worked at a corner shop and ended up being a lawyer - upward social mobility.

Question 19

Intragenerational mobility

Answer 19

Refers to the movement between classes by an individual during their working life.

E.g A woman might start working as a secretary at the beginning of her career and end up running the company by the end.

Question 20

Problems of researching social mobility

Answer 20

• Classifying occupations - Sociologists do not agree on how people should be classified by occupation.
• The mobility of women - The OMS focuses only on the mobility of males
• The mobility of the very rich and poor - Wealthy people are not always identified in social mobility studies as they have closed positions. The poorest often have no occupation so they are trapped at the bottom of society.
• Current patterns of social mobility - Cannot draw conclusions about how far people are mobile until they are well established in their careers.