Midterm 2 soc100

Socioeconomic status (SES)

A person's social and economic standing based on income, wealth, education, and occupation.

Social inequality

Unequal distribution of resources, opportunities, services, and power in society.

What are the trends in wealth and income inequality in Canada?

Income and wealth inequality in Canada are increasing. Wealth is becoming more concentrated among the richest households, while lower-income households have fewer opportunities to accumulate wealth. Although incomes have generally increased, the rising cost of living and housing affordability make it harder for poorer households to improve their financial situation. Overall, the gap between rich and poor is growing, and wealth is not being distributed equally.

Social stratification

Ranking people or groups into a social hierarchy based on wealth, status, power, or education.

Income

Money earned over a period of time.

Income inequality

Unequal distribution of earnings among individuals or households.

Wealth

Total value of an individual's possessions and assets.

Wealth inequality

Unequal distribution and accumulation of wealth among individuals.

Global North

Wealthy and highly industrialized countries such as Canada and Japan.

Global South

Regions generally classified as lower- or middle-income, including parts of Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

Core

Economically powerful and highly industrialized countries with skilled workers and strong institutions.

Periphery

Economically weaker and less industrialized countries with low-wage labour and weaker institutions.

Semi-periphery

Developing peripheral countries or declining core countries.

Davis-Moore hypothesis

The theory that important and difficult jobs receive higher rewards because they require special skills.

Conspicuous leisure

Using nonproductive leisure time to demonstrate social status.

Human capital

Valuable skills and knowledge gained through education and work experience.

Cultural capital

Knowledge and behaviours that signal social status.

Educational attainment

The highest level of education an individual has completed.

Progressive taxation

A tax system where higher-income earners pay higher tax rates.

Regressive taxation

A tax system that takes a larger proportion of income from lower-income earners.

Redistribution

Government transfers and programs intended to reduce income inequality.

Capital gains

Profits earned from selling assets such as property or investments.

Absolute poverty

Lacking basic necessities such as food and shelter.

Relative poverty

Deprivation measured against the average standard of living in a society.

Market Basket Measure (MBM)

A poverty threshold based on the cost of essential goods and services.

Feminization of poverty

The disproportionate representation of women among people experiencing poverty.

Social mobility

Movement between levels of social stratification.

Achievement-based system

A system where talents and achievements determine social position.

Ascription-based system

A system where social position is determined by status assigned at birth.

Intragenerational mobility

A change in an individual's social position during their lifetime.

Intergenerational mobility

A change in social position between parents and their children.

Intergenerational income elasticity (IGE)

A measure of how strongly parents' incomes predict their adult children's incomes.

High IGE

Lower social mobility

Low Gini score

Low inequality

Race

A social categorization based on physical traits such as skin colour and ancestry.

Ethnicity

Shared culture and ancestry that may include language and religion.

Racism

Beliefs and practices that treat racial groups as superior or inferior.

Scientific racism

Using flawed scientific evidence to justify racial superiority or inferiority.

Essentialism

The belief that groups possess fixed characteristics determining their behaviour and abilities.

Genocide

The deliberate and systematic destruction of a social group.

Minority groups

Groups experiencing unequal treatment compared with the dominant group.

Prejudice

Negative judgments about people based on their group membership.

Discrimination

Unfair actions against individuals based on their group membership.

Implicit bias

Unconscious attitudes that influence how we understand and treat others.

Democratic racism

The coexistence of beliefs in equality with discriminatory practices against racial minorities.

Systemic racism

Institutional policies and practices that systematically disadvantage racial minority groups.

Casual racism

Subtle and seemingly harmless conduct rooted in negative racial stereotypes.

Stereotypes

Widely held and oversimplified beliefs about members of a group.

Racialization

The process of classifying people into racial groups based on physical or cultural differences.

Diaspora

The dispersal of people from their country of origin to other parts of the world.

Refugees

People outside their home country due to a well-founded fear of persecution.

Sex

Biological characteristics used to categorize bodies as male or female.

Sex assignment

The sex assigned to a child at birth based on their genitals.

Gender

Socially constructed expectations about appearances and behaviours associated with sex categories.

Gender roles

Social expectations about how men and women should behave.

Gender role socialization

Learning society's gender expectations through family and other social influences.

Gender expression

How someone publicly presents their gender through clothing and behaviour.

Gender identity

A person's internal sense of their gender.

Genderqueer

A gender identity outside the traditional binary categories of man and woman.

Two-spirit

An Indigenous identity associated with gender and spiritual roles beyond Western gender categories.

Transgender

Having a gender identity that differs from the sex assigned at birth.

Cisgender

Having a gender identity that corresponds with the sex assigned at birth.

Sexual orientation

The direction of a person's romantic or sexual attraction.

Bisexual

Experiencing attraction to more than one sex or gender.

Heterosexual

Experiencing attraction to people of a different sex.

Homosexual

Experiencing attraction to people of the same sex.

Pansexual

Experiencing attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity.

Biological determinism

The belief that biological differences determine people's characteristics and behaviours.

Gender stereotypes

Fixed and generalized beliefs about how men and women should behave.

Hegemonic masculinity

The culturally dominant ideal of masculinity that reinforces power and privilege.

Queer theory

An approach that challenges fixed categories of gender and sexuality.

Gender inequality

Unequal power and status and wealth between men and women.

Glass ceiling

Invisible barriers preventing women from advancing to higher organizational positions.

Glass escalator

Advantages in promotions and earnings experienced by men in female-dominated occupations.

Gender ideologies

Beliefs about the appropriate roles and responsibilities of men and women.

Division of household labour

The allocation of domestic tasks among household members according to gender.

Second shift

Unpaid household work performed after paid employment and disproportionately affecting women.

Intimate partner violence

Physical or psychological harm caused by a current or former intimate partner.

Femicide

The killing of women or girls because of their gender.

Homophobia

Hostility toward gay and lesbian people that may lead to discrimination or violence.

Sexual double standard

Judging the same behaviour differently for men and women.

Emphasized femininity

Forms of femininity that accommodate men's desires and reinforce women's subordinate position.