1. Ch. 11 Social Class

2. Social Class in Canada We tend to underestimate the extent of social inequality and stratification in Canada We believe in `meritocracy' We tend to interact with people who are close to us in the class system

3. Income Inequality in Canada 2012 (from the 2013 National Household Survey) median family income in Canada is $76,000 generally higher in the West than the East median individual income is just $27,600 wealthiest 20% of households account for about 43% of all income earned, while the poorest 20% take in a measly 4%! richest 10% of individuals make over $80,400 the very rich (top 1% or the 272,600 individuals make more than $191,100  Average income for very rich is $381,300 each, 10 times the average Canadian income of $38,700

4. Income Ranges by Quintile Canada 2012 Source for tables: http://www.moneysense.ca/save/financial- planning/the-all-canadian-wealth-test-2015-charts /

5. Median Income by Province 2012

6. Net Worth of by Quintile Canada 2012 All wealth (real estate, pensions, RRSPs and all other investments) minus all debt for individuals and households.

7. The Very Rich in Canada overwhelmingly male, between the ages of 45 and 54, almost always married or living in a common-law relationship more than two thirds of the top one per cent had a university degree, compared to 20.9 per cent of the total population

8. Ethnic Disparity in Income 2 nd generation Canadians make more than national median a full-time worker median income is $50,699 the median for a visible-minority worker is just $45,128. First Nations full-time worker, the median income is $41,684

9. Occupational Prestige Wealth is an important source of power Occupation is a major determinant of income, wealth, and power Physicians, lawyers, and engineers are ranked near the top on prestige, while cashiers and janitors are ranked near the bottom

10. Education There is a strong link between education and income Educational differences between men and women in similar jobs are minimal However, women have completed more years of schooling than men overall Why the disparity?

11. Income Inequality by Gender 2012 Women between the ages of 45 and 54 earn on average about $23,600 less than men in that same cohort.

12. Canadian Stratification Factors Ancestry: most of the rich gained their position through inheritance Race and Ethnicity: higher average incomes for Japanese, British and French vs. Chinese, Black, and Aboriginal Gender: women earn less income, accumulate less wealth, and have lower occupational prestige than men

13. Class in Canada four main social classes in Canada:  The upper class  The middle class  The working class  The lower class

14. Upper Class Upper-uppers inherit enormous wealth  High society, “old money”  <1% of the Canadian population Lower-Uppers: “working rich” but excluded from high society  2 to 4 % of the population  Have high levels of education  Success stories (e.g.: ".com millionaires”)

15. Middle Class 40-50% of the Canadian population  greater ethnic diversity Upper-Middles: professionals, educated, accumulate wealth  children go to college or university Average-middles: middle or lower management or highly skilled blue-collar jobs  some wealth, children go to local college

16. Working Class Also the lower middle class 33% of the population Blue-collar jobs, often “dead-end” jobs Little or no accumulation of wealth, may own their house in low-cost neighbourhoods Their children have little chance of going to university

17. Lower Class The poor, 20% of the Canadian population Some depend of social welfare Working poor: Lack of work and little income renders life unstable and insecure  Low-prestige jobs, minimal income and little intrinsic satisfaction

18. Social Mobility Upward: With college degree or higher-paying job Downward: Drop out of school, losing a job, business failure, or divorce Intragenerational mobility: Change in social position during one person’s lifetime Intergenerational mobility: upward or downward social mobility of children in relation to their parents

19. Factors Affecting Social Mobility Long-term trend has been upward but…  Occupational inheritance occurs for men whose fathers are professional, white-collared, and farmers  Class background still affects education  Women’s opportunity for upward mobility has been less than men’s, but income gap is narrowing

20. Poverty Relative poverty: deprivation of some people in relation to those who have more Absolute poverty: deprivation of resources that is life-threatening Measured by “low-income cut-off” (LICO): People who spend at least 55% of pre-tax income for food, shelter, and clothing, varying by size of community

21. The Poor in Canada Formerly the elderly, now children Higher rates for poorly educated Higher rates for visible minorities and Aboriginals “Feminization of poverty”:  The trend by which women represent an increasing proportion of the poor, e.g., female single parents

22. Feminization of Poverty

23. LICO Nearly 5 million Canadians (13.8%) are considered low income Low-income threshold family of 4 is $41,568  Single individual threshold is$27,300 one in six children (16.3%) had in low-income status in 2012. Children living with single mothers 44.5% Seniors, 6.2% for those who lived in families  much higher – 28.5% – when living alone

24. Incomes for families vs. single people (by province) Canada 2012

25. Watch: Richard Wilkinson: How Inequality Harms Societies (2011 Ted Talk) Richard Wilkinson: How Inequality Harms Societies (2011 Ted Talk)  Wilkinson is Professor Emeritus of Social Epidemiology at the University of Nottingham UK and author of the book “The Spirit Quest”

26. Deficiency Theory: Innate Inferiority Herbert Spencer  Social Darwinism: Belief that the place of people in the stratification is a function of their ability and effort  The poor are poor because they are unfit Arthur Jensen  Advocates there is a strong possibility that blacks are less intelligent than whites  Argues that 80% of IQ is inherited and 20% attributed to environment Richard Herrnstein (The Bell Curve)  Argues that mental ability is inherited  Argues that job prestige and earnings depend on mental ability

27. Critique of Innate Inferiority Argument Classic example of “blaming the victim” Stresses that poverty is inevitable Appeals to bigots Validates the IQ test as a legitimate measure of intelligence Justifies unequal schooling Encourages policy makers to ignore poverty or to attack its effects rather than its causes

28. Culture of Poverty Theory: Cultural Inferiority Culture of Poverty: View that the poor are qualitatively different in values and life styles from the rest of society and that these cultural differences explain continued poverty Critique: Reasoning blames the victim In reality the poor share the dominant values of society (Merton’s Strain Theory) Also, the poor hold an alternate set of values that are a result of adaptation to the conditions of poverty

29. Structural Functionalism Some poverty is inevitable Social pathology theories: personal deficiency Social disorganization theory: too much change Modern functional theory: inequality is useful Social inequality serves the function of motivating people to work hard to gain resources. For whom is it functional that professional athletes earn so much more than child care workers? Poverty is functional for those who work in the poverty industry, e.g., government workers

30. Social Conflict: Political Economy of Society Under capitalism, the distribution of goods and services is determined by private profit rather than by collective need  Lower pay, job insecurity, investment decisions made without regard for employee impact. How society is organized creates poverty and makes certain kinds of people especially vulnerable to being poor Institutional Discrimination: When the social arrangements and accepted ways of doing things in society disadvantage minority groups

31. Symbolic Interactionist Theory How is the problem defined? Typical definitions include: Blaming the victim: saying the problem resides in the person with the problem Culture of poverty: the poor have different values and beliefs than middle and upper classes Cultural capital: social assets, like values, beliefs and competencies in language, that are required for success But tend to ignore structural factors like stratification, sexism and racism.

32. Can Inequality Be Reduced? Possible structural solutions: Create jobs with liveable wages Distribute wealth more equally through taxation Incentives for low-income people to build assets Tax benefits, daycare for low-income workers Economic assistance to low-income people Invest in low-income communities Improve social assistance and EI