6.1.6

Distribution of Poverty UK

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Ethnicity and Poverty

Certain groups within society are more likely to live in poverty. These include ethnic minorities, certain age groups, people who have a disability and women.

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Poverty and ethnicity

  • Poverty in minority ethnic groups is about double that of White British people.
  • Pakistanis and Bangladeshis are the poorest groups in the UK.
  • Ethnic minorities are more likely to be employed in low pay jobs or be unemployed than White British.
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Employment

  • Pakistanis and Bangladeshis often have large families, combined with low paid jobs, this increases poverty levels.
  • Racism in employment means that some ethnic minority groups may find it difficult to find the best-paid jobs in certain industries.
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Sociological theories

  • Functionalists argue that poverty amongst minority ethnic groups is functional for the system, in that they are motivated to take the lower paid manual jobs.
  • Weberian theories suggest that some minority ethnic groups have a weaker market situation due to educational underachievement.
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Marxists

  • Marxists see racism and low pay contributing to divisions in the working class, by separating the poor working-class from the non-poor working class, dividing black and white workers and, thus, preventing the development of working-class unity that might threaten the capitalist system.
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New Right

  • New Right theorists suggest that some minority ethnic groups are to blame for their poverty, as they are part of a dependency culture and a work-shy underclass.

Age and Poverty

Certain groups within society are more likely to live in poverty. These include ethnic minorities, certain age groups, people who have a disability and women.

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Age and poverty

  • Older people are now less likely to be living in low-income households than adults of working age.
  • Child poverty in the UK remains higher than in most other countries of the EU; around 27 percent of all children in the UK were living in poverty in 2013-2014, compared to 19 percent of adults.
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Distribution of child poverty

  • Poverty is greatest amongst homeless children, those with disabled parents, children from Pakistani and Bangladeshi households, and children from marginalised groups like asylum seekers and Roma/Traveller communities.
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The impact of child poverty

  • Poverty affects educational achievement and has long-lasting effects on health and psychological development.
  • Poor children are more likely to become poor adults.
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The impact of child poverty cont.

  • Child poverty can generate wider social problems, for example, crime and anti-social behaviour.
  • Child poverty can lead to children becoming socially isolated and stigmatised, for example, because they cannot afford the things that many children take for granted.
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Hirsch

  • Hirsch offers a number of reasons for the high levels of child poverty:
    • Lone parenthood.
    • Lack of work or parents in low pay jobs.
    • Disability, resulting in parents finding it harder to find work.
    • Inadequate policies supporting childcare and flexible working.

Gender and Poverty & Disability and Poverty

Certain groups within society are more likely to live in poverty. These include ethnic minorities, certain age groups, people who have a disability and women.

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Disability and poverty

  • The poverty rates for disabled adults are around double that of non-disabled adults.
  • Palmer suggests these high rates are due to a number of factors, including:
    • The inability to take up paid employment.
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Palmer

  • Higher rates of unemployment and low pay (disabled people are four times more likely to be out of work or be in low-paid work than non-disabled people with the same qualifications).
  • Some disabled people might be discriminated against in the job market.
  • Inadequate welfare benefits.
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Gender and poverty

  • Women are more likely to live in poverty than men.
  • Women are more likely to be in low-paid and part-time work because they are more likely to have the major responsibility for housework and childcare.
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Homeworkers

  • Women make up the majority of homeworkers, due to childcare or caring for dependent adults; many homeworking jobs are poorly paid.
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Single parents

  • Women are more likely than men to be lone parents with sole responsibility for childcare, reducing the possibilities of employment and increasing dependence of state benefits.
  • Women are more likely to sacrifice their own standard of living in order to provide for their children.

Jump to other topics

1Theory & Methods

2Education with Methods in Context

3Option 1: Culture & Identity

4Option 1: Families & Households

5Option 1: Health

6Option 1: Work, Poverty & Welfare

7Option 2: Beliefs in Society

8Option 2: Global Development

9Option 2: The Media

10Crime & Deviance

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