Economists generally assume that wage differentials among similar workers will only endure when competition in the capital and/or labor market is restricted. In contrast, Howard Botwinick uses a classical Marxist analysis of real capitalist competition to show that substantial patterns of wage disparity can persist despite high levels of competition. Indeed, the author provocatively argues that competition and technical change often militate against wage equalization. In addition to providing the basis for a more unified analysis of race and gender inequality within labor markets, Botwinick’s work has important implications for contemporary union strategies. Going against mainstream proponents of labor-management cooperation, the author calls for militant union organization that can once again take wages and working conditions out of capitalist competition. This revised edition was originally published under the same title in 1993 by Princeton University Press.

Despite centuries of campaigning, women still earn less and have less power than men. Equality remains a goal not yet reached. In this incisive account of why this is the case, Mary Evans argues that optimistic narratives of progress and emancipation have served to obscure long-term structural inequalities between women and men, structural inequalities which are not only about gender but also about general social inequality. In widening the lenses on the persistence of gender inequality, Evans shows how in contemporary debates about social inequality gender is often ignored, implicitly side-lining critical aspects of relations between women and men. This engaging short book attempts to join up some of the dots in the ways that we think about both social and gender inequality, and offers a new perspective on a problem that still demands society’s full attention.

This book adopts a multidimensional approach to analyze both the historical and emerging factors that contribute to make Latin America and the Caribbean the most unequal region in the world. Social inequality is a historical characteristic of the region, but at the beginning of the 21st century, a handful of progressive governments seemed to be adopting policies that could reduce this historical trend. Many of these efforts, however, were blocked or reversed by the COVID-19 pandemic, which both exposed the persistence of historical trends and contributed to the emergency of new forms of inequality in the region. The different chapters in this contributed volume adopt a multidimensional, intersectional, perspective to analyze both the persistence and the emergency of social devices of production and reproduction of inequalities in the diverse Latin American and Caribbean temporal spatialities. The issues analyzed in the different chapters revolve around four main axes: a) persistence of generational and intergenerational inequalities; b) structural gender inequality; c) intertwined social inequalities: race, class and social structure and; c) historical and economic dimension of inequality. Persistence and Emergencies of Inequalities in Latin America: A Multidimensional Approach will be of interest to researchers interested in the study of social inequality and social justice in different fields of the human and social sciences, such as sociology, political science, history, economics, anthropology and education. It will also be a valuable tool for policy makers and social activists engaged in the discussion, advocacy and implementation of public policies aimed at reducing social inequalities.

In the United States, some populations suffer from far greater disparities in health than others. Those disparities are caused not only by fundamental differences in health status across segments of the population, but also because of inequities in factors that impact health status, so-called determinants of health. Only part of an individual's health status depends on his or her behavior and choice; community-wide problems like poverty, unemployment, poor education, inadequate housing, poor public transportation, interpersonal violence, and decaying neighborhoods also contribute to health inequities, as well as the historic and ongoing interplay of structures, policies, and norms that shape lives. When these factors are not optimal in a community, it does not mean they are intractable: such inequities can be mitigated by social policies that can shape health in powerful ways. Communities in Action: Pathways to Health Equity seeks to delineate the causes of and the solutions to health inequities in the United States. This report focuses on what communities can do to promote health equity, what actions are needed by the many and varied stakeholders that are part of communities or support them, as well as the root causes and structural barriers that need to be overcome.

The fact that men and women continue to receive unequal treatment at work is a point of contention among politicians, the media, and scholars. Common explanations for this disparity range from biological differences between the sexes to the conscious and unconscious biases that guide hiring and promotion decisions. Just One of the Guys? sheds new light on this phenomenon by analyzing the unique experiences of transgender men—people designated female at birth whose gender identity is male—on the job. Kristen Schilt draws on in-depth interviews and observational data to show that while individual transmen have varied experiences, overall their stories are a testament to systemic gender inequality. The reactions of coworkers and employers to transmen, Schilt demonstrates, reveal the ways assumptions about innate differences between men and women serve as justification for discrimination. She finds that some transmen gain acceptance—and even privileges—by becoming “just one of the guys,” that some are coerced into working as women or marginalized for being openly transgender, and that other forms of appearance-based discrimination also influence their opportunities. Showcasing the voices of a frequently overlooked group, Just One of the Guys? lays bare the social processes that foster forms of inequality that affect us all.

This book encompasses a systematic, comparative study of change in educational stratification in thirteen industrialized countries, exploring which societal conditions help reduce existing inequalities in educational opportunity. The contributors show that in most industrialized countries inequalities in educational opportunity among students from different social strata have been remarkably stable since the early twentieth century. Only in Sweden and the Netherlands has there been a reduction in educational inequalities. The improvements are attributed to aggressive social welfare policies that have equalized living conditions and overall life opportunities in the two countries. Interestingly, the social policies of former socialist states did not produce similar advances - a finding consistent with assertions that under socialism the bureaucratic elites were as effective in protecting the interests of their own children as were elites in many capitalist societies. In contrast to the persistence of socio-economic inequalities in educational opportunity, the gender gap in education has narrowed in all thirteen countries. In fact, in some countries women now attain higher mean levels of education than men. The book concludes with an integrative methodological chapter that introduces new methods of dealing with observed and unobserved sources of heterogeneity in models of educational attainment. The highly structured analyses of educational systems in the thirteen countries allow illuminating comparisons without sacrificing the specialized knowledge required to understand the particularities of each system.

The authors assess the extent of black economic progress in the U.S. since World War II and forecast the development of the black-white income gap into the 21st century. Competing explanatory theories for the gap are examined and ameliorative policies are explored. They conclude that current policies will be insufficient to close the gap in the future. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Annotation A report from the front lines of the war against the most deadly epidemics of our times, by a physician-anthropolpgist who has for over 15 years sought to serve the poor of rural Haiti and other settings in the Americas.

The authors assess the extent of black economic progress in the U.S. since World War II and forecast the development of the black-white income gap into the 21st century. Competing explanatory theories for the gap are examined and ameliorative policies are explored. They conclude that current policies will be insufficient to close the gap in the future. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

The world we live in is hugely unequal. People in a better socioeconomic position do not only lead more comfortable lives, but also longer and healthier lives. This is true not only in the poorer parts of the world but also in the richest countries, including the advanced welfare states of Western Europe which have successfully pushed back poverty and other forms of material disadvantage. Why are health inequalities - systematically higher rates of disease, disability, and premature death among people with a lower level of education, occupation or income - so persistent? How can we expect to reduce this when it persists even in the most advanced states? Written by a leading figure in public health, this book looks to answer these questions by taking a broad, critical look at the scientific evidence surrounding the explanation of health inequalities, including recent findings from the fields of epidemiology, sociology, psychology, economics, and genetics. It concludes that a simplistic view, in which health inequalities are a direct consequence of social inequality, does not tell us the full story. Drawing upon a unique series of studies covering 30 European countries and more than three decades of observations, it shows that health inequalities are partly driven by autonomous forces that are difficult to counteract, such as educational expansion, increased social mobility, and rapid but differential health improvements. Finally, the book explores how we might use these new findings to continue our efforts to build a healthier and more equal future. Offering a truly multidisciplinary perspective and an accessible writing style, Health Inequalities is an indispensable resource for health researchers, professionals, and policy-makers, as well as for social scientists interested in inequality.