The class ceiling: Why it pays to be privileged
TL;DR: Friedman and Laurison as mentioned in this paper close their compelling book with a simple set of statements: “In contemporary Britain it quite literally pays to be privileged. Even when individuals from working-c...
Abstract: Sam Friedman and Daniel Laurison close their compelling book with a simple set of statements: “In contemporary Britain it quite literally pays to be privileged. Even when individuals from working-c...
Citations
More filters
04 Feb 2020
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explore the conceptual links between poverty and inequality from the standpoint of their normative justifications, highlighting both moral and non-moral reasons that ground our concerns.
Abstract: Policy debates surrounding poverty and inequality try to find practical solutions to what we should do to tackle these phenomena. But what are the grounds for being concerned about poverty or about inequality? To what extent do these overlap? These questions invite us to explore the conceptual links between the two notions from the standpoint of their normative justifications. This paper clarifies the normative debate surrounding poverty and inequality, highlighting both moral and non-moral reasons that ground our concerns. The result is a clear map of the key philosophical positions, connected to current empirical debates in social policy. What emerges from this analysis is the possibility of endorsing a broader social justice justification for which poverty and inequality do not generate competing concerns, but see, instead, our normative reasons to care about both overlap. Bucelli, I. (2019) “Why we should care about poverty and inequality: exploring the grounds for a pluralist approach”, Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy. pp. 128 The relationship between poverty and inequality: Concepts and measurement LIPpaper 2 by Lin Yang Abstract This paper defines and maps the variety of different concepts and measures of poverty and inequality that have been developed and used in research. These reflect differing views of what constitutes a minimum acceptable quality of life and how the disparity between the least and most well-off in society should be defined. Since the analytical conclusions of poverty and inequality research can depend on the concepts and measures chosen, it is worth laying out their underlying rationales. In this paper we discuss the concepts of poverty and inequality in broad terms; the focal variables of poverty and inequality that have been proposed in the literature, from unidimensional monetary indicators to broader multidimensional and subjective concepts; the issues in conducting comparative analyses of poverty and inequality over subgroups of individuals, households, countries and over time; and the properties of measures proposed for summarising levels of poverty and inequality over the population. While there are overlapping features between approaches to both poverty and inequality measurement, such as the focus of traditional approaches on income and the use of indices for the summarisation of income poverty and inequality, there are also distinct challenges for both. The variety of proposals and abundance of debate shows that that there is little consensus on how these challenges should be met. However, this paper has attempted to present the salient points among some of the most prominent issues and approaches. In doing so, it is hoped that the analysis of poverty and inequality, and the relationship between the two, can be better understood within the context of the menu of concepts and measures currently available.This paper defines and maps the variety of different concepts and measures of poverty and inequality that have been developed and used in research. These reflect differing views of what constitutes a minimum acceptable quality of life and how the disparity between the least and most well-off in society should be defined. Since the analytical conclusions of poverty and inequality research can depend on the concepts and measures chosen, it is worth laying out their underlying rationales. In this paper we discuss the concepts of poverty and inequality in broad terms; the focal variables of poverty and inequality that have been proposed in the literature, from unidimensional monetary indicators to broader multidimensional and subjective concepts; the issues in conducting comparative analyses of poverty and inequality over subgroups of individuals, households, countries and over time; and the properties of measures proposed for summarising levels of poverty and inequality over the population. While there are overlapping features between approaches to both poverty and inequality measurement, such as the focus of traditional approaches on income and the use of indices for the summarisation of income poverty and inequality, there are also distinct challenges for both. The variety of proposals and abundance of debate shows that that there is little consensus on how these challenges should be met. However, this paper has attempted to present the salient points among some of the most prominent issues and approaches. In doing so, it is hoped that the analysis of poverty and inequality, and the relationship between the two, can be better understood within the context of the menu of concepts and measures currently available. The empirical relationship between income poverty and income inequality in rich and middle income countries LIPpaper 3 by Eleni Karagiannaki Abstract This research draws on inequality and poverty statistics from various databases including the European Union Statistics on Incomes and Living Conditions (EU-SILC), the OECD
36 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors focus on subtle forms of inequality that arise when academic communities are conceptualized as friendship-based and egalitarian, rejecting explicit hierarchy, and argue that it stems from a meritocratic ideology that inadvertently reproduces Euro-American white-male privilege.
Abstract: Using the example of Andean archaeology, this article focuses on subtle forms of inequality that arise when academic communities are conceptualized as friendship-based and egalitarian, rejecting explicit hierarchy. I describe this as performative informality and argue that it stems from a meritocratic ideology that inadvertently reproduces Euro-American white-male privilege. In a discipline that prides itself on its friendliness, openness, and alcohol-fueled drinking culture, those who find themselves unable to enact or perform informality appropriately are at a distinct disadvantage. Drawing from a multisited ethnography of Andeanist archaeologists, I make the case that it is the ephemerality and plausible deniability of performative informality that makes it hard to recognize and thus mitigate against it. In doing so, I draw on and contribute to the theorization of gender/class intersectionality in anthropology and science studies, US conceptualizations of meritocracy in academia and higher education, and feminist Jo Freeman’s concept of “the tyranny of structurelessness.” [anthropology of science, ethnography of archaeology, class, gender, anthropology of work and education] RESUMEN Usando el ejemplo de la arqueología andina, este artículo se enfoca en las formas sutiles de la desigualdad que surgen cuando las comunidades académicas se conceptualizan como basadas en la amistad e igualitarias, rechazando la jerarquía explícita. Describo esto como informalidad performativa y argumento que proviene de una ideología de meritocracia que reproduce inadvertidamente el privilegio de hombre blanco euroamericano. En una disciplina que se enorgullece de su amabilidad, apertura, y una cultura impulsada por el consumo de alcohol, aquellos que se ven así mismos incapaces de actuar o representar la informalidad apropiadamente están en una desventaja distinta. Basada en una etnografía multilocal de arqueólogos andinos presento el argumento de que es la efimeralidad y la deseabilidad plausible de la informalidad performativa lo que hace difícil reconocer y por tanto mitigar en su contra. Al hacerlo, me baso en y contribuyo a la teorización de la interseccionalidad de género/clase en antropología y estudios de las ciencias, conceptualizaciones estadounidenses de meritocracia en academia y educación superior, y el concepto feminista de Jo Freeman de “la tiranía de la falta de estructuras”. [antropología de la ciencia, etnografía de la arqueología, clase, género, antropología del trabajo y la educación] D a 2011 interview, a North American1 Andeanist archaeologist,who I’ll call Hannah, described an early experience that almost led her to leave archaeology. I’m always respectful and I was always eager. But unfortunately, with the boss of the project, he sort of requires, and really really AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST, Vol. 000, No. 0, pp. 1–15, ISSN 0002-7294, online ISSN 1548-1433. © 2020 by the American Anthropological Association. All rights reserved. DOI: 10.1111/aman.13455 likes, if you kiss ass.That was really hard. Because the other graduate students, they were much older than me and were like, “Well, you need to kiss more ass.” Very blatantly, like, “If you want to make it in this field, you need to be doing this, you need to be...” And I was like, “Are you kidding me? I’m here every day, I do my work, I’m respectful, I’m eager.”...And it was implied that this is how [archaeology] works, but especially with someone with such 2 American Anthropologist • Vol. 000, No. 0 • xxxx 2020 a status [as] this person. For example, one of the other graduate students would read in the evening something that the professor wrote, and then come in the morning like, “I had this really great idea!” Something sort of related to what the professor had initially written, and he’d be like, “Oh, I totally agree!” And then they’d get in this discussion. It was obviously a game. (February 2011) At the time we spoke, Hannah was nearing the end of her PhD at a North American university and had established a solid reputation for herself.With some satisfaction, she remarked that the bullying students who’d told her to “kiss ass” were no longer working in archaeology at all. The moral she’d taken from this story was that hierarchies and nepotism do not, in fact, have a place in archaeology, and a successful career is best forged through hard work. Later in the same interview, I asked how she’d met the various mentors who’d invited her on their projects or encouraged her graduate applications. In response, she described a series of chance encounters at conference parties or dinners that all led to career-changing invitations. I met some people at a conference.... I don’t know how it happened,but I started talking to someone on the project and they had me over to dinner....We went and ate dinner with the [project] crew, completely casual. Then, from there I went down [to their excavation] because I had this one contact [from the dinner].... They gave me a scholarship, meaning I didn’t really have to pay to come down. (February 2011) When applying to graduate school, Hannah reached out to potential faculty advisors. One could not take her that year, but: Hannah (H):He put [me] in contact with Sam. I came down to visit [Sam’s university].... I had put in my application but they hadn’t done the selection yet. I’m like, “Well, I’m going to be in town,” because I was driving [to that state anyway]. Obviously, it’s not straight passing through. I had to make a detour. I know showing your face makes a big difference. Mary (M):How did you know that showing your face and emailing people beforehand ... ? H: I think that any way that you can set yourself out from the pack helps because, otherwise, I’m sure the majority of applications are all good, or you wouldn’t even be applying to grad school, you wouldn’t have letters of recommendation. It was just an intuition thing. No one ever told me, “You should do this,” but I had the understanding that you shouldn’t apply to grad school unless you have someone who wants to accept you and work with you.... I just figured that if I can make any sort of impression personally, it’s going to help my application because [my GRE scores2] weren’t all that stellar. There’s things that could count against me, you know what I mean? So I figure, you know, do anything you can.We actually went out and we partied all night.We had a great time, I hung out with [Sam] and [another archaeology professor] and they all responded really well to me. M: They took you out drinking? H: We had a great time.... Anyway, I was very fortunate. I think that really made a difference because they only accepted two people that year. I don’t think that I would have gotten in if I hadn’t done that. M: The fact that you’d made the effort to come and met with him made the difference? H: Could be, but I think they had at least a feeling about me. They had had a conversation with me. I really don’t think that I would have gotten in if they hadn’t done that. (February 2011) In this article, I explore subtle forms of inequality that arise when academic communities are conceptualized as friendship-based: built not through explicit hierarchy but through informal forms of sociality that are considered “casual” and “intuitive.” An ability to “fit in” determines who is present in the lab, field, or classroom—who, at themost fundamental and insidious level, is positioned to create knowledge. As Hannah illustrates, and research on “cultural fit” argues (Garth and Sterling 2018; Friedman and Laurison 2019; Rivera 2012), in the United States, this ability to fit in is invariably ascribed to an individual’s personality rather than their gender, race, class, or nationality. Andean archaeology is thus an interesting case study to contrast with sociological studies of fit and meritocracy in middle-class professions; as anthropologists, the members of this professional community are, for the most part, aware of and committed to inclusive, feminist, anticolonial work. When inequalities arise, they do so in subtle, hard-to-pin-down ways. Drawing from theories of gender/class intersectionality in anthropology and science studies, US conceptualizations of meritocracy in academia and higher education, and feminist Jo Freeman’s concept of “the tyranny of structurelessness,” I explore how and why subtle inequalities arise, using a concept I term performative informality. “Performative” emphasizes how informality is a norm remade through each instance of enactment and draws attention to how such enactments are a negotiation of power.When a profession like archaeology is understood to be fun, open, friendly, and meritocratic, an individual’s success depends on inhabiting or enacting that professional community’s specific kind of informality correctly. Performing informality correctly underpins whether people have a “good feeling” about you. Other professional skills—academic grades, publications, and so on—are important, but formal professional opportunities, such as invitations to join excavations or encouragements to apply to graduate school with a particular professor, often stem from informal friendship-based contacts. My goal is to contribute to the current debate in archaeological practice surrounding discrimination and inequality, as exemplified by both the #MeTooSTEM movement and the reaction to Kawa et al.’s (2019) analysis of biased hiring of graduates from “elite” universities, and a broader anthropological conversation about how meritocratic ideology perpetuates and masks class and gender discrimination in the United States. The North American Andean archaeologists I studied performed a Euro-American, middleclass, and male sociality. Women, people of color, people from working-class backgrounds, and foreigners found it harder to “do” this informality correctly.Archaeologists who were comfortable and successful in this community were not consciously excluding others; rather, e
33 citations
Cites background from "The class ceiling: Why it pays to b..."
...As Hannah illustrates, and research on “cultural fit” argues (Garth and Sterling 2018; Friedman and Laurison 2019; Rivera 2012), in the United States, this ability to fit in is invariably ascribed to an individual’s personality rather than their gender, race, class, or nationality....
[...]
...A similar point is made in a recent UK-based study that shows how, once people enter an elite profession, career progression is determined by class origin (Friedman and Laurison 2019)....
[...]
TL;DR: Significant expansions in higher education over the last few decades have raised concerns about an over-supply of graduates in the labour market, such that a degree no longer seamlessly translates to the real world as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Significant expansions in higher education over the last few decades have raised concerns about an over-supply of graduates in the labour market, such that a degree no longer seamlessly translates ...
33 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the key issues and contours of the emerging stream of literature on critical studies of inclusion in organizations are mapped out, and a special issue seeks to begin to map out the key features and key issues of these studies.
Abstract: This Special Issue seeks to begin to map out the key issues and contours of the emerging stream of literature on critical studies of inclusion in organisations. We aim to generate and develop furth...
22 citations
Cites background from "The class ceiling: Why it pays to b..."
...…workplaces like law, arts or broadcasting remains extremely difficult for working-class people as it requires exhibiting appropriate sensibilities and/ or abandonment of authentic identity as a price to pay for inclusion (Ashley and Empson, 2017; Friedman and Laurison, 2019; Friedman et al., 2015)....
[...]
References
More filters
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors position mixed methods research (mixed research is a synonym) as the natural complement to traditional qualitative and quantitative research, and present pragmatism as offering an attractive philosophical partner for mixed method research.
Abstract: The purposes of this article are to position mixed methods research (mixed research is a synonym) as the natural complement to traditional qualitative and quantitative research, to present pragmatism as offering an attractive philosophical partner for mixed methods research, and to provide a framework for designing and conducting mixed methods research. In doing this, we briefly review the paradigm “wars” and incompatibility thesis, we show some commonalities between quantitative and qualitative research, we explain the tenets of pragmatism, we explain the fundamental principle of mixed research and how to apply it, we provide specific sets of designs for the two major types of mixed methods research (mixed-model designs and mixed-method designs), and, finally, we explain mixed methods research as following (recursively) an eight-step process. A key feature of mixed methods research is its methodological pluralism or eclecticism, which frequently results in superior research (compared to monomethod resear...
11,330 citations
Posted Content•
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present three key facts about income and wealth inequality in the long run emerging from my book, Capital in the Twenty-First Century, and seek to sharpen and refocus the discussion about those trends.
Abstract: In this article, I present three key facts about income and wealth inequality in the long run emerging from my book, Capital in the Twenty-First Century, and seek to sharpen and refocus the discussion about those trends. In particular, I clarify the role played by r > g in my analysis of wealth inequality. I also discuss some of the implications for optimal taxation, and the relation between capital-income ratios and capital shares.
7,011 citations
TL;DR: The authors predicts that educational inequality will remain at current levels throughout the next hundred years, based on past trends and the assumption that the American educational system will remain largely stable, which is consistent with current knowledge about the sources of racial inequality in educational outcomes.
Abstract: Inequality among different socioeconomic and racial groups was a salient subject for sociology of education in the 20th century. What will happen to educational inequality in the 21 st century? On the basis of past trends and the assumption that the American educational system will remain largely stable, this article offers predictions about educational inequality over the next hundred years. First, it foresees a decline in black-white racial inequality. This prediction would continue a trend that occurred during the past hundred years and is consistent with current knowledge about the sources of racial inequality in educational outcomes. Although racial inequality in education is expected to decline, corresponding changes in labor market inequality may be much weaker. Second, educational inequality by socioeconomic background is expected to persist at current levels throughout the next century. This prediction is also based on past trends, which indicate that socioeconomic inequality is "maximally maintained": Privileged groups protect their advantages until virtually all members reach a given status, at which point the axis of inequality shifts upward to another level of educational outcome. Relaxing the overall assumption of stability raises questions about the predictions.
328 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a hierarchical linear modeling approach is employed that allows the simultaneous exploration of the mechanisms of income inequality operating both within and between occupations, and the association between average occupational earnings and within-occupation racial disadvantage reveals an overlooked source of racial earnings inequality which constrains the opportunities available to upwardly mobile black men in the private sector.
Abstract: This study is motivated by the idea that the racial gap in earnings is generated not only by individual differences but also by systematic variation in the occupational structure that attenuates or exacerbates the effects of race. Using data from the 1990 census and the Dictionary of Occupational Titles, a hierarchical linear modeling approach is employed that allows the simultaneous exploration of the mechanisms of income inequality operating both within and between occupations. Among private-sector employees, striking evidence shows that racial disparities increase in both absolute and percentage terms as one moves up the occupational earnings hierarchy. The association between average occupational earnings and within-occupation racial disadvantage reveals an overlooked source of racial earnings inequality which constrains the opportunities available to upwardly mobile black men in the private sector. This association cannot be explained by measured individual characteristics, or by the status, demographic composition, or skill demands of occupations. In the public sector, on the other hand, racial inequality in earnings is not systematically associated with average occupational earnings, and is instead more closely tied to individual human capital and occupational placement. The implications of these results are considered and directions for future research are suggested.
322 citations
TL;DR: The increasing concentration of wealthy students at highly selective colleges is widely perceived, but few analyses examine the underlying dynamics of higher education stratification over time as discussed by the authors, which is the case in many other domains.
Abstract: The increasing concentration of wealthy students at highly selective colleges is widely perceived, but few analyses examine the underlying dynamics of higher education stratification over time. To ...
258 citations