Social Consequences of Inequality

Social Consequences of In fullityInequality is a feature of my country, (the UK), however, it is of little complaisant consequence. Discuss.IntroductionInequality in society means that some community argon at a disadvantage comp ard to others. In the UK inequalities atomic number 18 featured in a number of different contexts. Women for example are socially disadvantaged in comparison to men and ethnic minorities are often disadvantaged in comparison to the dominant white community because they may not swallow the same opportunities. There are also enlighten inequalities in Britain where those from a working crystallise background are often disadvantaged compared to people from a middle- division background (Giddens, 2001). This assignment will discuss the statement that inequality is a feature of the UK and assess the view that it is of little social consequence, this will be done with reference to class and grammatical sexuality inequalities in health.Class InequalitiesTho se who belong to the higher capitalist classes and to the middle classes tend to be get out educated than people from a working class background. This often means that the higher classes abide great material resources than those from a turn down class. Having to a greater extent money means that people also rent great entre to other resources. They tend to fare bettor when it comes to education and to health because they live in better areas which tend to hasten less crowded and better performing schools (Giddens, 2001). The working classes tend to take away more stressful, or more physically demanding jobs that pay less money than, for example, teaching or being the managing director of a successful business. This means that they often tailnot afford the same kind of diet as those who substantiate more money and live in a better area. This puts them at a disadvantage in terms of how healthy they are and how long they might expect to live (Walsh et al, 2000). Such inequ alities do not simply occur as a result of class inequalities but in areas where people do not have the same equality of opportunity. Since the late nineteen sixties feminists such as Walby (1990) have pointed to the fact that in a capitalist society women do not have the same access to material or other social resources and that this is due to the gender inequalities which exist in a gray society.Gender InequalitiesBritain is a elderly society. In patriarchal societies women are seen as the subordinate sex. Patriarchy is dancing up with traditional notions of the family where the father was seen as the head of the family unit. This, feminists say, can be seen in all the structures of patriarchal societies where laws and social structures operate in such a way as to bene delay men at the expense of women (Walby, 1990). Since the nineteenth century the traditional family has been one where the man goes to work and the woman stays at home and encounters after the house and any chi ldren in the family. Walby (1990) argues that this arrangement made women invisible and their labour in the home, which allowed men to have a public life, has not been taken into account. With the rise of feminism and the struggle for equal opportunities for women the situation has changed somewhat and many women now work outside the home. Work does not readjust the gender imbalances that exist in British society because in most jobs women clam up earn less than men.Walby (1990) has argued that gender is a primary category when it comes to inequaltity and the oppression of women. State policies may no longer aim to bound women in the home but have done little to alleviate the inequalities between women and men in the public sphere. Certain occupations such as teaching, nursing, shop or clerical work are still regarded as womens work. Although women may now be involved in the public sphere and can be found in the labour market in increasing numbers, Walby states that they still rem ain unintegrated from wealth, power and status.Doyal (1995) has said that research shows that while paid work solves benefits to a family it can also bring extra stresses and responsibilities. These may then affect womens health. The increasing number of roles that women are called upon to play in contemporary society affects their emotional, mental and physical well being.Class, Gender, and HealthFor some time at that place has been cephalalgia over the fact that there appear to be inequalities in health provision and the ways in which this impacts on peoples lives. As a result of this sociologists look the body, or aspects of the body and the ways in which factors such as class, race and gender affect a persons go of health (Giddens, 2001).The Acheson Report (1998) pointed out that health inequalities are complex, sure as shooting more than people had previously believed. literal deprivation alone is not the cause of inequalities in health, rather there are wider cultural a nd stinting factors which interact with personal choices based on psychological and biological influences. Acheson recommended that a wider range of intervention and insurance initiatives would be needed to address health inequalities. Many commentators believe that class inequalities in health have worsened over the last twenty five years with the introduction of market forces into healthassist i.e. operational the health system as though it were a business (Giddens, 2001). This particularly affects those people at the lower end of the class scale because facilities in poorer areas are often over stretched and therefore people may have to wait longer for the care they need.Women in Britain tend to use the health services a lot more than their male counterparts. This is explained in terms of women generally living longer than men, having more inveterate illnesses and generally being the main care giver and child rearer in the family (Provincial Health Officers Report, 1995). Femini sts such as Abbott and Wallace (1997) point out that what is often missed is that women will also visit the deposit on behalf of another family member. Feminists also point out that because there is no specific health care policy for women the processes of menstruation, childbirth and the menopause are over medicalised.Are These Inequalities of Social Consequence?Clearly there are class and gender inequalities which are endemic to society in the United Kingdom and this results in inequalities in other areas of social life such as health. It might be argued that these inequalities do have social consequences. Class inequalities in health for example can result in working class members of society suffering from greater ill health and dying prematurely. The results of this could mean a shortage of workers in jobs that are not usually held by people from other classes it could also mean that the working class are more of a burden on the health system than their middle class counterpart s. These things could have much wider social consequences, a shortage of services, in the construction industry for example, and a shortage of infirmary beds in some areas. Similarly gender inequalities could also have wider social consequences. If women do not have sufficient access to health services then they may not be healthy enough to take care of other members of the family.ConclusionClearly there are inequalities in this country and it would certainly appear that these inequalities may not seem to be of great social consequence but if they are left to carry on unaddressed could have wider ramifications. The introduction of the Community Care Act in 1990 for example relies on family members to take care of those people who may not be able to look after themselves as a result of mental health problems, or simply due to age. Members of the focal ratio and middle classes may well have the resources to pay for care but working class people do not. If health inequalities are not addressed then there may be no-one who is fit enough to look after those people who are unable to look after themselves. This could have skillful consequences for the health system, the benefits system, and Government policy making in general.1250 wordsBibliographyAbbott and Wallace, 1997 An Introduction to Sociology Feminist Perspectives. London, RoutledgeAcheson, D. 1998. Independent doubt into Inequalities in Health Report London, HMSODoyal, L. 1995 What Makes Women Sick London, MacmillanGiddens, A. 2001 4th ed. Sociology, Cambridge, Polity Presswww.polity.co.uk/giddensPollert, A. 1996. Gender and class revisited or the poverty of patriarchy Sociology vol. 30 no. 4Provincial Health Of. cers one-year Report (1995). Report on the Health of British Columbia.BC Ministry of Health and Ministry Responsible for Seniors.Townsend, P. Davidson, N. and Whitehead, M. (eds) 1988. 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