...Women’s Social Mobility in the United States of America We live in a world full of obstacles where it’s said that the one who is born poor will remain poor. Like many other country in the world the United States of America is also struggling with the difficulties regarding social mobility. The American dream is that the poorest suburban person can be a rich person too and America is the home and land of unlimited possibilities. The main idea is that if you work hard enough you can make it to the top. Is it true for everyone? Can women make it to the top? But before I start my essay on Women’s Social Mobility in the United States of America let me clarity certain definitions. The concept of social mobility has two main meanings: a) in the narrow sense, represents the moving in a stratification system, b) broadly refers to the space movement (territorial mobility) and / or change of employment (or mobility fluctuation labor). Studies (theoretical and empirical) say that social mobility can be placed in three categories: - those using a hierarchy criteria, tracking movements between strictly hierarchical layers. It’s the American tradition, which uses the social status as a hierarchical criteria. - those who use as a classification criteria exclusively the individual’s occupation, this leading to the establishment of a social space consisting some number of socio-professional categories: tradition - those using as a criteria social classes and social strata. Here fall particularly...
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...Introduction In America, the wealth gap between the rich and the poor has undoubtedly increased over the years. Most Americans do not doubt the presence of this gap, but not all believe it is an issue that impairs our economy. Scholars from the Intelligence Squared U.S. debate argue over whether the American dream of upward mobility is hindered by our economy’s disproportionate income distribution. Based on statistical evidence and facts from the arguments, it is clear that income inequality does, in fact, impair the American dream of upward mobility. Analysis According to a census performed in 2015 by the U.S. Census Bureau, America has experienced economic growth in regards to national income. Though this sounds like a factor that would...
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...Today,many people immigrate to the United States of America in search of one thing...The American dream.There are people like J.G Ballard who think that the american dream is dead and would not ever come back.many people say he is wrong and there are facts to prove it.Most people think that the american dream is dead and that it no longer supplies the world with its images,its dreams,its fantasies.if people think that the american dream is dead because they can not get ahead financially then they are dead wrong.The american dream is within people solely because people control their own actions.The American dream is based on hardwork and determination that these immigrants have.Just because people think that they deserve everything because they...
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...October 29, 2014 IS 206GENDER ANALYSIS AND DEVELOPMENT THE IMPACT OF INEQUALITY Box 1: COMPARATIVE STUDIES ON INEQUALITY AND SOCIAL MOBILITY ACROSS OECD AND LATIN AMERICAN COUNTRIES Presented by Del Mundo, Maria Naida Box 2: SOCIAL AND POLITICAL COHESION, SOCIAL TOLERANCE OF INEQUALITY Presented by Gutierrez, Cherry Lou THE IMPACT OF INEQUALITY ABSTRACT October 29, 2014 There is growing evidence and recognition on the powerful and corrosive effects of inequality on economic growth, poverty, social mobility and political cohesion. This paper finds that the real and potential impacts of inequality in relation to economic growth, poverty, social mobility, social stability and cohesion. KEYWORDS: Inequality, Economic Growth, Poverty, Social Mobility, Political Cohesion, Gender I. INTRODUCTION In relation to the worldwide gender gap, in so far as inequality also exist in political imbalance in the Philippines distinguished through the partisan move of a party, wherein, such intent, policies and term of their advocacy is their ultimate road map and reluctantly to engage in the opponent’s adherence. Colonial mindset, attributable to the Spanish era wherein their colonial stay in the country portrays the strictness and conservative ways in precluding to whom or to which is one’s belief will end up to, and upon the continuance of the American regime, where westernized ways has gotten in the minds of the Filipinos, that every choice of an American decision draws correct conclusion...
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...American Dream can be defined as every citizen having an equal opportunity to obtain success or security through hard work, determination, climbing the social ladder, and undergoing social mobility. I disagree with the idea of social mobility being achievable for most Americans and The American Dream being attainable. There are different types of social mobility. Intergenerational mobility is the change that family members make in social class from one generation to the next. Upward and downward social mobility which is the movement up the social class ladder or down the social class ladder. Structural mobility, movement up or down the social class ladder that is due to changes in structure of society. Finally exchange mobility, the large number of people moving up the social class ladder, while a large number of people move down. Social class is a large group of people who rank closely to one another in property, power and prestige. People tend to believe that there is the rich, the poor and people who are in the middle. Carl Marx argues that there are two classes, capitalists and workers, while sociologists have denounced this view by arguing that these...
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...Describe how society defines the social issue. So, what is Social Mobility? First, let’s go to its technical or dictionary definition. Social mobility is the movement of people from one social class or economic level to another (“Social Mobility”, Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2nd Edition). This term is widely used both in Sociology and Economics. It usually refers to vertical movement or moving up or down in rank. For example, if a soldier becomes a sergeant from a corporal, that would be vertical movement. However, it may also refer to horizontal movement or moving from one rank to another of the same social level. Example of this would be a principal who resigns from one school to become the principal of another school. With this definition in mind, we can see that Social Mobility is “movement”. The technical definition doesn’t restrict about the direction – whether you move up or down or just within what’s mentioned before as horizontal movement. Social Mobility is a term used in the objective comparison of economic or social states. Looking at the events around us, we can see that people care more about upward movement. When people talk about Social Mobility, they are likely referring to progress or development. Everyone wants to move up. Like what we commonly see in families. Almost everyone gives importance to good education. Parents keep reminding their children to be good in their studies so they can have good jobs. People want the opportunity to move up. People...
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...codes, Jim Crow laws, segregation, the civil rights movement, mass incarceration, to present day black lives matter movement, racial inequality is a hard barrier for the United States to overcome. The true impact of racial inequality in America is belittled. Racism in America is the unjust treatment of collective individuals based on the color of their skin due to historical contexts and systematic oppression (Baber 1). Racism roots from the belief of one race has qualities that defines it as inferior or superior to other races. Inequality is the...
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...One of the fundamental spirit of American culture is social mobility, where it used to be a place of opportunity for the hard working people to find a successful life. However, since the early 1980’s income inequality has been increasing rapidly as proved by the forever widening gap between the country productivity and hourly earnings of a typical American worker. In fact, according to the Congressional Budget Office income distribution report, from 1979 to 2007 the average real after-tax household income growth for the top 1 percent was 275% while the middle class income growth stagnated under 40%, and this situation is only going to get worst according to empirical evidence. In other words, America is now a country regardless of how hard you are working, most of the gain form the productivity that the laborers contributed is only going...
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...Executive Summary This paper examines the rate of upward mobility on the lower, middle and upper class. The data suggest that even after controlling for differences between non-college graduates and college graduates —including such factors as age and location— it is far less likely to move up in social class and/or acquire substantial power if a person is not born of parents with said class and/or power. On average, individuals earning 100,000 or more a year, come from homes where their parents or guardian made 100,000 or more per year. The impact of an affluent family was even bigger in occupations where technical skills are more prevalent, such as doctors, lawyers, and chemists. Those individuals who came from an affluent household were 85 percentage more likely to graduate and gain employment making six figures. Those individuals that did not come from an affluent house hold were 75 percent more likely to be involved in criminal activity, underage pregnancy and not make over 30,000 a year. Recent studies propose that there is less economic mobility in the United States than has long been acknowledged. The last twenty years has seen a significant drop-off in median household income growth interrelated to earlier generations. My findings demonstrate that individuals who come from homes netting higher income per year place their offspring in better financial standing, hence better chance of upward mobility than an individual that is from a home netting a lower, middle to...
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...Social mobility was the engine of the Northern economy. It was such a social advancement that distinguished the North from both the European nations and the South. Social mobility would help the average Americans enjoyed economic choices and gained financial independence. [7] Furthermore, equality would offer the same opportunity to the average Americans to make their dreams come true. Therefore, every American could have an access to social advancement. As Foner states, “The aspirations of the free labor ideology were thus thoroughly middle-class, for the successful laborer was one who achieved self-employment, and owned his own capital-- a business, farm, or shop.” [8] Such a view, according to Foner, truly reflected the social and economic conditions of the North. Thus, the Republicans were firmly convinced that equality existed in the North could help average American workers obtain capital ownership, leading to the economic growth of the North, the equal distribution of wealth and the building of an equalitarian society. Namely, the Republicans agreed that providing equal opportunities in the American...
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...Social Stratification and Social Mobility Social Stratification: Ø This is the ranking of society into groups or classes of people according to wealth, power, status and or prestige (Mohammed, 2007). Ø In addition, a particular race or color may be aligned with those who have wealth, prestige or status in the society. Social Stratification under Slavery Ø During the era of slavery Caribbean society was a closed system of stratification based on race and color. The society was termed as a ‘plantation society’. Ø A plantation society was a rigidly stratified system of social and economic relations enforced on plantations in the Americas (Mohammed, 2007). Ø Economic characteristics – very large agricultural land holdings which demanded a huge labour force for manual work. The owners and managers were Europeans who had access to capital. Ø Social Relationships – the large plantation encouraged the formation of a miniature social system with little contact with the outside. The ‘total institution’ of the plantation demanded that everyone observed the superiority of European culture. Different races contributed to cultural diversity but the way in which the plantation was organized discouraged easy interaction and mixing of the races Effects of Social Stratification on Contemporary Caribbean • Certain social groups continue to dominate society. These groups may be direct descendents of Europeans whether white or coloured. • There is still a strong resemblance to...
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...or failing to espouse the dominant ideology of upward mobility through education engenders negative social reproduction, which in some cases prescribes that one would be fated to become a future blue collar worker, much like one’s parents and peers. However, MacLeod also highlights the paradoxical discrepancy in the less than favorable outcomes of another group whose members do adhere to the dominant achievement ideology, The Brothers. MacLeod explains that, “If the Hallway Hangers [group of white boys] show that opting out of the contest is not a viable option, the Brothers [group of black boys] show that dutifully playing by the rules hardly guarantees success...
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...While a meritocratic America compliments the golden value of the American dream perfectly, both ideals have been essentially dead since the 1970s due to this divide between productivity and wages. Once the shift began, productivity continued to rise at a significant rate of 77.5% until 2015, compared to a measly 11.1% increase in hourly median compensation (EPI 2015). Instead of having median wages increase, economic gains have been funneled into CEO and other top management pay and bonuses at alarming rates (Reich 161). From 1979 to 2010, the top fifth of Americans have seen a 1.2 annual real income growth, compared to -0.4 for the lowest fifth of Americans (Krueger). This imbalance has created a socioeconomic problem that dealt a fatal blow the American dream and upwards mobility; 43% of those born into the bottom quintile of America will stay there their entire lives, while 40% of the top quintile will do the same. Instead of helping facilitate mobility, the country has perpetuated the process of destroying it by increasing...
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...law have presided over it, creating a diverse social and legal culture that has always been unique in comparison to the rest of colonial America. Equally as diverse as the different power structures which existed in Louisiana is its racial composition: a myriad of groups such as Mulattoes, Quadroons, and Octoroons. Louisiana presented an interesting social dichotomy: freed people of color arguably experienced the best standard of living in comparison to the rest of colonial America, whereas the lives of the enslaved were some of the most brutal and repressed. However, to reduce Louisiana to solely a colony that struggled with race-related issues oversimplifies something inherently more complex; antebellum Louisiana was an intersection of social class, gender, and race both politically and socially. Each cultural nuance of Louisiana contributed to the creation of plaçage, which...
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...The social problem of economic, class and racial inequality has been a great issue of concern for many in the United States because inequality goes against America’s cores values of upward mobility economic wise and in social class (Korgan, 2012). These social problems of inequality have been linked to disparities in quality of life and psychological and social well-being. The problem of social inequality has been found to be linked with other social problems such as crime and victimization. The problem of social inequality can even be seen in the criminal justice system in how it treats people of various races, ethnic groups and socioeconomic classes who are processed through the system (Wheelock, 2006). In essence, there exists a disparity amongst race, ethnicity, socioeconomic class in criminal victimization and how people are processed through the criminal justice system that exacerbates the social problem of inequality in numerous social institutions and complicates many individual’s efforts to escape from poverty and achieve upward mobility (Wheelock, 2006). The disparity in criminal punishment is due to various factors such as laws that were implemented to reduce crime, race, and low economic status (Wheelock, 2006). The factors that have a tremendous impact on victimization are demography and socioeconomic status (Raphael, 2006). While violent crimes are not exclusive to poor metropolitan areas, consistent patterns have been observed which reveal lower rates of crime...
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