Inequality by ethnicity, race, religion, gender, sexuality and class

Overview

Residential segregation and how is it measured, why ethnic enclaves form and how gender affects the way people use urban space.

What you need to know

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Questions from this subtopic

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1. 1

   How do geographers distinguish between race and ethnicity?

   Model answer

   Race has historically been used to classify people by supposed inherited physical differences, especially skin colour. Social scientists now generally treat race as a social construct rather than a valid biological classification, because the genetic variation within any so-called racial group is greater than that between groups, and because the categories themselves have changed over time and differ between countries. Ethnicity refers to a group defined by shared ancestry, culture, language, religion and self-identification. The important geographical point is that even though race is socially constructed, racialisation and racism operate on those constructed categories and have measurable effects on where people live, what work they get and how they are treated.

2. 2

   Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the patterns of inequality documented in relation to ethnicity in cities.

   Model answer

   Official statistics in many MEDC cities record differences between ethnic groups in average household income, unemployment and underemployment, housing tenure and overcrowding, health outcomes, school attainment and experience of policing, and these differences vary considerably between groups rather than falling into a single pattern. The explanations are contested and several operate together: discrimination in labour and housing markets; differences in the timing of arrival, in qualifications recognised locally and in language; concentration in regions or sectors with weak labour markets; and the effects of clustering, which brings support but can also limit the range of job contacts. Careful analysis separates these rather than assuming any one of them.

3. 3

   What is residential segregation and how is it measured?

   Model answer

   Residential segregation is the degree to which groups live apart from one another within a city. It is measured by mapping the percentage of each group by ward or output area as a choropleth, and by summary indices, most commonly an index of dissimilarity, which expresses the proportion of one group that would have to move to a different area for the two groups to be distributed identically. Values near zero indicate even mixing and values near one indicate near-complete separation. Indices are sensitive to the size of the areal units used, so the same city can appear more or less segregated depending on the scale of the data.

4. 4

   Explain why ethnic enclaves form.

   Model answer

   For two quite different sets of reasons, and both usually operate. Chosen reasons: proximity to relatives and to people who speak the same language, access to places of worship, specialist food shops and community organisations, help with finding work and housing, and a sense of safety and familiarity. Constrained reasons: affordability, so newcomers concentrate in the cheapest older housing; discrimination by landlords, estate agents or lenders that steers or restricts where people can buy or rent; and the location of the social housing they are allocated. Distinguishing which is dominant matters for policy, because voluntary clustering and enforced concentration call for different responses.

5. 5

   How does discrimination operate in housing and labour markets?

   Model answer

   In housing it can appear as refusal of tenancies, differential treatment by letting agents, unequal access to mortgage finance in particular areas, or allocation practices that concentrate one group on the least popular estates. In employment it can appear at recruitment, in progression and in pay. Researchers test for it with correspondence studies, in which matched applications differing only in the name or stated background of the applicant are sent to real vacancies; such studies have repeatedly found differences in call-back rates in a number of countries, which is treated as evidence of direct discrimination independent of qualifications. Indirect discrimination is harder to see, because the rule appears neutral and only its effects are unequal.

6. 6

   Discuss how religion relates to social inequality.

   Model answer

   Religion can be associated with inequality in several ways. Where a religious identity has historically been linked to political power, the disadvantaged group may show lower employment rates, poorer housing and worse health outcomes that persist after the formal barriers are removed. Religious dress and observance can lead to discrimination at work, and religiously motivated hate crime is recorded in many countries. Where residential segregation follows religious lines, communities may have duplicated schools, shops and facilities, restricted movement across interfaces, and less contact with one another, which sustains difference. Because religion often overlaps with ethnicity and with class, the effects are difficult to disentangle and claims about causes should be attributed rather than asserted.

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