Inequality by Gender, Ethnicity and Age
Alongside social class, sociologists study how gender, ethnicity and age shape a person's access to wealth, power, status and opportunity.
Before you start
Make sure you're comfortable with these topics first:
Method
- Treat gender, ethnicity and age as three separate but comparable dimensions of inequality, each with its own key terms; do not blend them together in an answer unless the question explicitly asks for a comparison.
- For gender, learn the precise definitions of the gender pay gap (a difference in average earnings) and the glass ceiling (a barrier to promotion into senior roles), and be ready to name a Feminist explanation, e.g. patriarchy, for both.
- For ethnicity, learn the distinction between direct discrimination, an individual or organisation treating someone worse because of their ethnicity, and institutional racism, unequal outcomes built into an organisation's normal procedures even without individual intent.
- For age, learn at least one example of inequality affecting younger people (e.g. youth unemployment, a lower minimum wage band) and one affecting older people (e.g. ageism in recruitment, pension inequality).
- Apply a named perspective when asked to explain any of these gaps, for example radical Feminism for patriarchy, or a Weberian point that status can disadvantage a group independently of their economic class.
- For a question asking which form of inequality, gender, ethnicity, age or class, matters most, plan a case for the named form, a case for at least one rival form, and a supported conclusion, noting that these forms often overlap, for example a working-class woman from a minority ethnic group can face several disadvantages at once.
Worked example
In a company, average annual pay for male employees is 42,000 pounds and average annual pay for female employees is 35,700 pounds. Calculate the gender pay gap as a percentage of male pay, and explain what this figure does and does not show.
- Find the difference in average pay: 42,000 - 35,700 = 6,300 pounds.
- Express the gap as a percentage of male pay: 6,300 / 42,000 x 100.
- Calculate: 6,300 / 42,000 x 100 = 15, so the gender pay gap is 15 percent.
- Explain what it shows: on average, women in this company earn 15 percent less than men.
- Explain what it does not show: this overall figure does not tell us whether men and women in the same job with the same experience are paid differently, or whether the gap instead reflects women being concentrated in lower-paid roles or working fewer senior positions, which is why sociologists also look at like-for-like pay and promotion rates, not just the headline gap.
Practice questions
Try each question, then tap to reveal the answer.
Q1Define the gender pay gap.Show answer
Answer: The difference between the average earnings of men and women, usually expressed as a percentage of men's average pay.
Q2Define the 'glass ceiling'.Show answer
Answer: An invisible barrier that makes it harder for women, or another disadvantaged group, to be promoted into senior, highly paid positions, even when they are equally qualified.
Q3What is meant by the glass ceiling, and give one explanation sociologists offer for it.Show answer
Answer: An invisible barrier that keeps women out of the most senior positions despite being qualified for them. Explanations include the unequal division of domestic labour limiting the hours women can offer, and recruitment through male-dominated informal networks.
Q4Give one example of age-based inequality affecting younger people.Show answer
Answer: Youth unemployment being higher than adult unemployment, or younger workers being legally entitled to a lower minimum wage rate than older workers doing the same job.
Q5Give one example of age-based inequality affecting older people.Show answer
Answer: Ageism in recruitment, where older applicants are less likely to be shortlisted or hired than younger applicants with similar qualifications, or lower retirement incomes for those who had interrupted or lower-paid careers.
Q6How would a radical Feminist explain the existence of the glass ceiling?Show answer
Answer: As a result of patriarchy, a structural system in which men as a group hold power over women, which operates through workplace cultures, informal networks and expectations about caring roles that make senior promotion harder for women to reach, regardless of individual employers' intentions.
Exam-style questions
Written in the style of a GCSE Sociology exam paper, with a full mark scheme.
Explain two reasons sociologists give for the existence of the gender pay gap.
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Discuss the view that gender is now a bigger source of inequality in the UK than social class. Use sociological evidence in your answer.
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See real GCSE Sociology past-paper questions, with official mark schemes →
Free printable worksheet
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