Life Chances

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Gender Inequalities

Life chances refers to the positive or negative outcomes over the lifetime in factors such as health, education, employment and housing. Life chances are distributed unequally between groups due to class, gender and ethnicity.

Life chances

The term life chances refers to people’s chances of having positive or negative outcomes over the lifetime in relation to factors such as health, education, employment and housing.
Life chances are distributed unequally between groups in terms of class position, gender and ethnicity.

Feminists

Feminists focus on gender inequalities in society.
Over the past 50 years, anti-discrimination laws, such as the Sex Discrimination Act 1975, has addressed aspects of gender inequality in education and employment.

The gender pay gap

Feminists argue that gender is still a key division in society despite legislation.
E.g. the gender pay gap persists because more women than men are likely to be in low-paid part-time work.

The glass ceiling

According to feminists, the glass ceiling acts as an invisible barrier to promotion.
Some occupations are either male-dominated or female-dominated.
E.g. in 2010 only around 3.9% of firefighters in England were female. However the number is growing.

Gender differences

Explanation of gender differences in the workplace include:
- Sex discrimination.
- The triple shift (women combining paid work, domestic labour and emotional work).
- Inadequate childcare provision.

Patriarchy

Some feminist approaches (e.g. radical feminism) argue that society is patriarchal.
This is when men have the power within families, politics and the workplace and generally receive a bigger share of the rewards such as income, wealth and status.

Ethnic Inequality

Changes

Over the last 50 years, laws such as the Race Relations Act 1976, have addressed inequality based on ethnicity in areas such as education, employment and criminal justice.
Now, many employers have equal opportunities policies to support equality and diversity.
Awareness of institutional racism has been raised within organisation including the police service.

Reality

Despite these interventions many sociologists argue that little has changed in the many fields, including employment, education, politics and the criminal justice system.
UK unemployment rates are still higher among people of Asian and Black Caribbean heritage than among White people.

Employment

Men and women of Pakistani and Bangladeshi heritage are less likely to be employed in professional and managerial positions than White people of the same age and level of education.
Explanations for the persistence of inequality at work include racism and discrimination in the labour market.

Marxism

Marxism views racism and sexism as part of the capitalist system, with some groups, including minority ethnic groups and working-class women, being hired in times of economic boom and fired during economic downturns.

Other Causes of Inequality

Age

Sociologists argue that age is socially constructed and that expectations surrounding age vary historically and cross-culturally.
The term ageism (or age discrimination) describes a situation in which someone is treated differently and less favourably based on their age, such as a person in their 60s being denied promotion at work because their employer thinks that they are too old to learn new skills.

Regulations

Young and old people are more vulnerable to ageism and stereotyping than other groups.
In Britain there are now regulations that safeguard against discrimination in employment and training.
The Equality Act 2010 protects people from age discrimination at work and when accessing services in places such as banks and hotels.
The unemployment rate for people aged between 16 and 24 is higher than in older groups.

Disability, sexuality, religion and beliefs

Despite legislation such as the Equality Act 2010, people’s life chances can be influenced by other factors, including disability, sexuality and religion and beliefs.
Some groups may experience discrimination or hate crimes that are motivated by hostility or prejudice related to their religion, sexuality or disability.