Outline the evidence that the working class are disadvantaged in the Contemporary UK
There is no need to evaluate in this question: outline means present the evidence for the
statement.
Sociological evidence
Concepts
Theory
The working class are the socio-economic group which are usually defined as having lower
paid jobs, less status and economic capital. Disadvantage means a relative lack of
opportunities or success in comparison to other groups; in this case the working class are
disadvantaged compared to the middle and upper class.
One way that the working class are disadvantaged is through their income. Income refers to
money received by a person or household over a period of time. The Institute for Fiscal
Studies (2007) found that income inequality is now greater than it was before World War
Two. This was backed by the 2010 Hills Report, and leads to higher rates of health and
social problems, particularly from the working class people who suffer at its effects. Because
of their class and economic situation, they are unlikely to have a high income compared to
higher classes, because of lower levels of education and a lack of social connections.
Contrastingly, middle and upper class people often have social and professional contacts
which allow them to get a head start and advance in the workplace, for example through
knowing someone who works at a law firm and will be able to secure a job for a relative
there. The working class don’t have this social capital, which will limit opportunities for them
to become upwardly mobile, while the more prosperous classes continue to progress.
Furthermore, research has shown that even within top managerial positions, those who
came from a family with a higher socio-economic background earn 20% than those who did
not, which demonstrates the so called ‘class ceiling’ sociologists use to describe the barriers
that people from a working class background face within professional workspaces. The
COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated income inequality, with many middle class people
being able to work from home, whilst working class jobs such as some retail workers couldn’t
do this, so they lost out on income.
Another way that the working class are disadvantaged is through wealth inequality. Wealth is
described as a stock of economic resources or possessions of a person or household, and is
distributed very unequally in Britain. This was demonstrated in 2012, when the Sunday
Times Rich LIst showed that the richest 200 families had an average of £225 billion of
wealth, the poorest 50% of the population have only 10% of wealth, and the poorest 10%
have almost no wealth. Unlike the other classes, the working class are likely to have little to
no property wealth, physical wealth (e.g. jewellery), financial wealth, or private pension
wealth, which limits their chances for economic advancement because wealth can be a
source of income for those who have it. Moreover, Tony Atkinson (2013) stated that a record
proportion of national income came from inherited wealth, reversing a trend from the 20th
century; this indicates that wealth and income are primarily based on family background
rather than individual merit. Wealth not only affects income, but as the The Birmingham
Commission Report (2013) demonstrated, wealth also affects individuals’ wellbeing and
opportunities, with low income people having a reduced ability to avoid debt or accumulate
savings, and rich people becoming richer.
