Introduction
Human well-being is a multi-dimensional construct arising from a mixture of what a person owns, what they can do with those possessions, and how they think about the potential of those possessions. Therefore, the three core dimensions of well-being are the material, the relational, and the subjective. While the material element focuses on living standards and practical welfare, the relational and the subjective aspects emphasize social and personal relations and values and perceptions, respectively. Although they are different, the three well-being components are in a closed loop with fluid boundaries. For this reason, contemporary issues such as inequality – which can affect what a person has and how they use them – are crucial facets of contemporary society. They are at the forefront of today’s public and policy discussions and remain linked to some of the most significant events worldwide. Income, gender, and educational inequalities are three common forms of inequalities now at the forefront of contemporary debates and require effective definition and measurement to understand their consequences.
Income Inequality
Income inequality is one of the most prevalent forms of inequality in contemporary society. It refers to differences in the distribution of personal, household, or any other form of per capita income. The situation of income inequality is worsening by the day. For example, today, the world’s wealthiest 10 percent earn nearly ten times more than the poorest 10 percent, yet they earned only seven times more than the poorest in the 1980s (Buttrick and Oishi, 2017). Similarly, during the COVId-19 pandemic, the fortunes of the top 1,000 billionaires took only nine months to recover to their pre-pandemic highs (Solt, 2020). However, for the world’s poorest, it is likely that recovery would take more than a decade. Apart from that, since the epidemic began, the wealth of the ten richest people on earth has increased more than enough times to pay for the immunization of all individuals and prevent any living person from falling into poverty due to the coronavirus. Unfortunately, most of the world’s wealth is in the hands of a few individuals, meaning that income or economic inequality is pervasive and prevents most people from living their desired lifestyles.
Causes
Various factors ranging from institutional issues to personal attributes contribute to the prevalent income inequality problem. Chief among them include globalization, lack of education, gender, laws and regulations, poor financial management skills, and the shifting balance between labor and capital (Patel et al., 2018). Globalization has led to income inequality in that it has created an increasingly integrated economy where there is extensive competition. Globalization has increased the flow of information and technology, international trade, finance and investment, production, and international migration. In this mix of various activities, some people lost their income while others gained, leading to income inequality. A lack of education also contributed to income inequality because access to economic opportunity has traditionally depended on a person’s education. The present economic system favors individuals with education as capitalists equate higher education with better knowledge and skills to create sustainable value. Unfortunately, acquiring the knowledge and skills to improve one’s chances of economic empowerment requires some significant initial investment. For example, education requires a significant investment of capital, and those without enough money are unlikely to get access to quality education. As such, breaking the poverty circle is a difficult undertaking.
Consequences
The consequences of economic inequality vary depending on the extent and nature of the problem. In extreme cases of income inequality, one of the consequences is a lack of access to resources and information that can improve one’s quality of life. In other words, income inequality can be so extreme that it causes abject poverty or destitution. Another consequence of income inequality is a generally reduced quality of life (particularly among the disadvantaged groups) (Schneider, Hastings, and LaBriola, 2018). For example, due to income inequality, some people have access to better education and healthcare while others do not. Income inequality may also lead to tension between and among communities as people fight for control over vital resources. In many parts of the world, civil wars are primarily caused by a disagreement on how to share or distribute such natural resources as land, oil and gas, and minerals. Notably, in politically unstable countries, formulating and implementing effective policies is a challenging undertaking, which explains why such countries have high levels of poverty. Income inequality is a serious problem that governments must address by developing appropriate policies and giving all members of the population equal economic opportunity.
Measurement
There are various ways of measuring income inequality among different groups and individuals. One of them is determining the level of income per month or annually. Ranking households or individuals depending on their monthly or annual income from the lowest to the highest can provide a clear picture of the income distribution (Chancel and Piketty, 2019). From such statistics, it would be easier to measure the dispersion of income between the wealthiest and the richest individuals or households within a given area over a specified period. Dividing the standard deviation of the income distribution by the mean gives a measure of income inequality. If the income inequality is lesser for a given group of people within a specified period, then the standard deviation will be smaller and vice versa. Income inequality can also be measured by looking at people’s standards of living. Often, people with higher incomes have access to more opportunities and lead to more comfortable lives. On the contrary, those with fewer economic opportunities tend to struggle to meet necessities like food, water, shelter, and clothing. High-income inequalities exist in countries where the majority of the population struggles to acquire such necessities as food and shelter.
Gender Inequality
Gender inequality is another common type of inequality in the contemporary world. It refers to the treatment of men and women as unequal primarily due to their sex. The distinction between men and women may be made by looking at a person’s biology, cultural norms, or physiology (Batz-Barbarich et al., 2018) Gender-based inequality may lead to lower economic opportunities, and less educational attainment, and reduced quality of life overall. Gender inequality has been one of the most prevalent forms of inequality because, since time immemorial, societies have placed women under men. As a consequence, in most parts of the world, women had fewer opportunities compared to men (Czymara, Langenkamp, and Cano, 2021). Today, while the world has made significant progress in addressing the issue, a lot remains to be done to ensure that both men and women are treated equally. One way to do so is by availing the same educational, political, economic, and social opportunities to men and women. The legislative arm of global governments can formulate and pass legislation that encourages gender equity to help address the problem. In some cases, education and public engagements may be needed to change people’s perspectives on men, women, and children.
Causes
Gender inequality has various causes that range from individual factors to cultural issues. For example, in most parts of the developing world, communities still view women’s roles as childbearing and homemaking. Therefore, they have cultural practices that discourage women from attending school and pursuing a career like their male counterparts (Heise et al., 2019). New legislation in such parts of the world is shifting the dynamics by encouraging more women to go to school. In the next several years, cultural practices that prevent women from attaining positive educational and career outcomes will reduce or disappear completely. In addition to the negative perspective on women, another significant cause of gender inequality is the social and economic setup. Because most current processes were developed by men at a time when women had limited roles in society, they tend to discriminate against women. For example, most high-income jobs such as engineering and medicine did not favor women. Personal characteristics such as failure to push harder for equity have also caused gender inequality. For example, in many parts of the world, many women have been okay with the status quo rather than pushing for more gender equality.
Consequences
The consequences of gender inequality affect individuals and their families. One of them is that gender inequality has led to higher levels of hunger and poverty (Heymann et al., 2019). For example, uneducated women have reduced economic opportunities, which increases their chances of being and remaining poor in their lives. Gender inequality has also led to the overdependence of men on women. Because some women in some parts of the world gave up their pursuit of education and a career, they depend on their spouses for economic empowerment (Heymann et al., 2019). Gender inequality has also led to a less peaceful, prosperous, and sustainable world as it is a pervasive form of discrimination. Gender inequality has also led to huge gaps in labor force participation, gender pay, seats in parliament, agricultural land holding, and sexual abuse and violence. Due to gender inequality, women tend to spend a significant proportion of their day time on unpaid work such as caring for children, preparing meals for their households, and maintaining their homes (Heymann et al., 2019). Issues of early marriages, teenage pregnancies, and school dropout are also directly attributable to gender inequality. Luckily gap between men and women is reducing.
Measurement
Gender inequality is measured by looking at various aspects of overall human development. There is less gender inequality if there is uniform human development for both men and women. One way to do so is to look at educational attainment for both genders in a given country for a specified period and compare those statistics with the total population (Huang et al, 2020). The total number of men or women that finish school as a percentage of the total population is indicative of the educational gender gap in that country. Another way to measure gender inequality is to look at employment statistics as a measure of human empowerment. If the percentage of employed men is comparable to that of women, then greater equality exists in that country and vice versa. One could also measure gender inequality by looking at the political leadership and land ownership records.
Educational Inequality
Education inequality focuses on the differences in the attainment of critical knowledge and skills through training in formal learning institutions. Educational inequality suggests the unequal distribution of resources and capabilities that promote academic growth (Bloome, Dyer, and Zhou, 2018). Inequality in education may also mean differences in accessing and utilizing academic resources. Throughout the world, groups of students disproportionately experiencing psychological barriers to achieving success in education exist. Most of these students have suffered as a result of society’s historic inequality (Bloome, Dyer, and Zhou, 2018). Some of the psychological barriers to educational attainment that these students experience include the feeling of social identity threat and a sense of having an identity that is not compatible with the educational system’s current structure. One way to address these issues is to utilize a range of wise psychological interventions that target the student’s subjective interpretation and internalization of their individual and predominant educational context (Bloome, Dyer, and Zhou, 2018). Students most likely to experience educational inequality are those from lower-class backgrounds or ethnic minority groups. Since education is an important predictor of future socioeconomic position and performance, there is a need to address the problem and ensure that all children have equal access to academic resources and opportunities.
Causes
Like the other forms of inequality, educational inequality is also due to personal and structural causes. Some of these causes include poor policies, ineffective implementation of existing rules, poverty, ethnic minority status, racial minority status, institutional biases against certain groups of students, differences in access to quality schools, and poor planning (Jackson and Holzman, 2020). Poor policies can discourage the building and funding of schools in remote areas. Consequently, students may become overcrowded in one intuition of learning in these parts of the world. If better policies existed in those areas, then more schools would be built, and teachers employed to ensure that the students get the highest quality education that improves their chances of becoming successful in the future. In some situations, the right policies may exist but are poorly implemented due to unfocused leadership and similar problems. Fast and timely implementations of effective policies can reduce the extent of the problem and improve educational attainment among individuals. Being a member of a racial or ethnic minority group can also lead to poor educational attainment. Students from poorer families are also less likely than those from wealthier backgrounds to attain positive educational outcomes.
Consequences
The consequences of educational inequality are variable but revolve around negatively impacting a person’s well-being. Therefore, one of the most notable consequences of educational inequality is a school dropout, which spearheads hunger and poverty. When children drop out of school, they are more likely to get unplanned pregnancies, which prevents them from developing their skills and finding a job (Merry and Boterman, 2020). The individual dropping out of school also lacks the essential knowledge and skills to work in high-income jobs. As such, these people are left doing menial jobs and are unlikely to break out of the circle of poverty. Educational inequality also leads to racial and ethnic intolerance. When people go to school, they encounter individuals from different cultures, backgrounds, and geographic locations. Such encounters make one develop a global mindset, allowing one to be more tolerant of diverse views, opinions, and ways of life (Wei et al., 2018). On the contrary, if a person drops out of school, they have narrow expectations and definitions of what constitutes right and wrong. As such, less educated people are more likely to be violent and to cause wars. They may make the world less peaceful or prosperous and more chaotic.
Measurement
There are various ways of measuring educational inequality. One way looks at the availability of educational resources such as schools and teachers in a given geographical location. If the distribution of schools, teachers, and related resources is equitable, then there is less educational inequality in that locality and vice versa (Neidhöfer, Serrano, and Gasparini, 2018). For example, in some countries, wealthy neighborhoods tend to have more high-quality schools than poor ones. Therefore, children living in rich neighborhoods have better educational access than those in poor areas. Another way to measure educational attainment or inequality is by considering differences in school enrollment in different communities as a percentage of the entire population. If there is equality in such data, then no educational inequality exists and vice versa. Comparing enrollment data among different communities can also paint a clear picture of the current status of educational inequality in a given area. Notably, in all the different forms of inequality, measurements depend on the available data. Therefore, there is a need to emphasize the data collection process to ensure that the records are authentic and reliable.
Conclusion
Inequality is a critical component of contemporary society. Because it is closely related to human well-being, it is the main reason for peace or instability worldwide. Communities may fight because they seek control of vital resources in some instances. In others, the circle of poverty continues because inequality leads to poverty, which causes more problems. Income inequality is the most prevalent form of economic inequality. It is measured by statistical approaches, is caused by both individual and structural or environmental factors, and leads to instability, among other consequences. Gender and educational inequalities are also related to income inequality and operate within a closed loop of clearly demarcated boundaries. One can measure the causes and consequences of inequality to aid in decision-making.
References List
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