Glossary

Is the social mobility that comes from the changes in the income distribution or occupational structure, within a given society or across different ones. Currently, these changes are associated with wider occupational transformations, such as the drying up of certain jobs (e.g., manufacturing plants) or the creation of new ones (e.g., software developer). Absolute mobility indicates the proportion of individuals that remain in the same income or occupational position as their parents (‘immobile’) and the proportion that move upward or downward. In most Western societies, during the economic prosperity that followed World War II, absolute mobility documented that more people moved out from the working-class and joined the middle-class than in previous decades.

Refers to the significant and persistent difference between social groups regarding their educational performance and attainment. This condition may affect diverse disadvantaged groups based on characteristics such as gender, race/ethnicity, wealth inequality or geographical location. Standardised tests and other relevant indicators are useful to measure and monitor achievement gaps and educational disparities. For instance, PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) results consistently show that boys outperform girls in mathematics, which may be associated with the fact that women are underrepresented in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) disciplines and careers.

Consists in policies and strategies that seek to provide equal access and opportunities to members of historically oppressed and excluded groups. It can be implemented either by a public or private institution and can concern diverse areas such as education, health or employment. In different countries, affirmative action policies have been oriented towards systematically discriminated groups such as ethnic communities or women. 

Refers to systematic errors made by computer systems and algorithms against certain categories. These errors are the result of incomplete or inaccurate information and data. In the social sphere, algorithmic bias can include an unfair representation of some social groups, which can lead to discrimination, particularly against historically excluded groups (e.g., discrimination based on class, gender, ethnicity, or sexuality). Furthermore, algorithmic bias can mislead public policy decision-making, which contributes to reinforcing the reproduction of social inequalities.

It is the desire, hope or ambition of achieving some goal or pursuing a specific activity. Aspirations vary within and across societies. Some people aspire to travel around the world during their holidays, others to perform a sport, and yet others to be highly successful in their jobs. To a large extent, aspirations are socially influenced or shaped through families, the educational system, and the media. They also vary significantly across national contexts. In social mobility research, aspirations mainly concern the desire or expectation to achieve a better class position (e.g., upper-middle-class) by individuals, families, or groups within or across societies.

Refers to different resources (e.g., economic, social, cultural, educational) used strategically by people to improve their wellbeing or position in society. Assets have different meanings in different national contexts: in some societies, assets are mostly confined to economic resources, while in others the cultural or social dimensions have greater prominence. In the context of wealth inequality and social mobility, assets mainly concern resources with economic value (e.g., business, financial, housing) that an individual, corporation, or country owns or controls with the expectation that they will provide a future benefit in the form of cash flow, reduce expenses, or improve sales. Assets are key components in the accumulation of wealth over time.

Refers to the idea that states should provide a minimum income for people who are unable to meet their basic needs in a given society (e.g., unemployed individuals). In most societies, basic income has been a key component in the development of welfare rights and systems. In recent years, scholars have proposed the establishment of a universal basic income: an unconditional income provided to all members of society on an individual basis without any prerequisite. This idea has inspired policy initiatives and pilot projects in countries such as Brazil, Canada, and Finland.

Refers to the concentration of authority, power, and decision-making in a single entity at the top level of the administrative system. This can be observed in political and organisational contexts. An example of centralisation would be the case of a large corporation, where decision-making is concentrated in a small group of individuals at the top levels of management.

Refers to a model in which products and materials (e.g., clothing or plastic) are used as long as possible in order to extend their span of life. Essential to this scheme is to promote practices that involve sharing, reusing, recycling, repairing and refurbishing. In this way, products and materials are put in permanent circulation, which helps reduce waste to a minimum.

Refers to the barriers faced by people who experience upward mobility in different occupational fields (e.g., culture, politics, and business). These difficulties can adopt two main forms. The first is a pay gap that prevents these individuals from obtaining equivalent earnings to those from privileged backgrounds. The second concerns the obstacles confronted by these individuals to rise through the organisational ranks into senior positions.

Refers to how people recognise themselves in relation to others in society, based on the identification of a common class situation. This identification is related to a subjective perception of people’s social position. For example, in many countries most people tend to identify themselves as middle class, even when they do not meet the objective parameters (income, occupational) associated with the middle class.

Can be defined as a system of domination and exploitation in which one group of people, known as the colonisers, exercises political, economic, and social control over another group, known as the colonised. It is a relationship of power that is characterised by unequal social, economic, and political dynamics. The colonisers typically assert their dominance through various means, including military force, legal systems, cultural assimilation, and the imposition of their values, beliefs, and institutions on the colonised population. This process leads to the marginalisation, oppression, and disempowerment of indigenous people, who have often been subjected to forced labour, land dispossession, cultural erasure, and discriminatory policies.

Refers to a wide range of cultural knowledge or resources (e.g., preferences, tastes, or educational credentials) used by individuals, families and groups to improve their social position. Cultural capital can serve both to reproduce class inequality and favour processes of upward mobility. Upper-middle-class parents typically mobilise their greater cultural resources than working-class parents to help their children succeed at school or university, thus reproducing existing class inequality. Access to university for students from disadvantaged backgrounds can be a vital route to improve their cultural capital (e.g., obtaining a prestigious educational credential) and, in so doing, their chances of upward mobility.

Refers to the process through which individuals and groups engage with cultural products, practices, and symbols and how they derive meaning from them. Cultural consumption can vary according to social factors such as social position, education, gender, ethnicity, and age. Cultural consumption and cultural capital are intertwined concepts, used to analyse how individuals and groups interact with cultural elements and how these interactions impact their social status and opportunities. Cultural consumption can contribute to the accumulation of cultural capital, and an individual's cultural capital can shape their choices and preferences in cultural consumption, ultimately influencing their social status and interactions within society.

Refers to the dispersed distribution of authority, power and autonomy at different levels of the administrative system. In federal systems, such as the United States and Switzerland, power is divided between the central government and regional or local authorities, where each level holds certain decision-making power, allowing for more local autonomy.

Refers to each of ten equal groups into which a population can be divided according to the distribution of values of a particular variable (e.g., income, wealth, social mobility). Deciles are widely used in statistics and studies of inequality. For instance, a common measure of income inequality is the decile dispersion ratio. This measure compares the average income of the richest ten percent to that of the poorest ten percent, and thus highlights the income share of the rich as a multiple of that of the poor

Decoloniality is a critical framework and set of practices aimed at challenging and undoing the enduring legacies of colonialism. It emphasises the recognition and revitalization of marginalised and excluded cultures, knowledge and ways of life. One example is the revitalization of Mapudungun which is the language of Mapuche indigenous people in Chile and Argentina.

Refers to the unequal treatment given to an individual, family or group for arbitrary or unjustified reasons due to their class, gender, sexual orientation, age or ethnic background. This unequal treatment negatively affects upward mobility, and can occur in settings as diverse as households, educational institutions, and the workplace. A notorious case of racial discrimination was the apartheid in South Africa, an institutionalised racial segregation system blocking or hindering the opportunities of black people to rise in society.

It is a collection of data on a variable (e.g., income, wealth, social mobility) that can change in quantity, quality, or size. In statistics, this distribution typically shows the possible values for a variable in a given population. For example, the distribution of wealth tackles the way in which the wealth of a nation is divided among its population, or the way in which the wealth of the world is divided among nations. Importantly, the distribution of wealth varies over time and across national contexts. Such patterns of distribution are basic tools for research on inequality and can be studied by various statistical means, all of which are based on data of varying degrees of reliability.

Diversity is defined as the encounter between different identities and social characteristics. These identities and characteristics can include properties and aspects such as gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, social class, religious or ethical values system, origin, and political beliefs of individuals of a community, groups or societies. Diversity can be observed at different scales: Within a household, a village, a company, or a country.

Refers to individuals, families, or groups who move downward in a given society. The son of a young middle-class entrepreneur who becomes bankrupt after an abrupt financial crash (such as the global financial crisis in 2008) may experience downward mobility if his father is no longer in a position to afford a good education for him. For this son, this downward trajectory may involve not just a lesser income than he might have had, but also potentially joining the lower-middle-class or the working-class.

Refers to assets such as money, real estate, equipment, or financial investments, used as resources by individuals, families or groups in society. Economic capital can serve both to reproduce class inequality and favour the process of upward mobility. In most societies, affluent parents typically dispose over more money to invest in their children’s educational development and indeed devote more of it compared to their working-class counterparts. The financial aid provided by universities to low-income students (e.g. bursary, scholarship) can be vital for their successful completion of higher education and their chances of upward mobility.

Refers to the unequal distribution of educational opportunities among different individuals, groups, or societies. It arises when access to education, resources, and support is not provided or denied, which leads to differences in educational attainment,[1] [2]  life skills development, and opportunities. Education inequality starts with early childhood development prior to compulsory schooling. The acquisition of foundational literacy and numeracy (FLN), typically obtained during primary school education, is considered crucial for all subsequent education phases that build up on these skills. Educational inequality can be associated with various factors such as socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity, gender, geographic location, and disabilities. Education is often considered a prerequisite to building wealth and is therefore crucial in improving the lives of those from less privileged backgrounds.

Is the process of expanding the provision of educational services beyond national borders. Educational institutions, particularly in the higher education sector, seek to export their educational services and attract new stakeholders at a global scale. This contributes to the creation of global elite institutions that contribute to the reproduction of privileged groups at a worldwide level. Internationalisation not only involves teaching and learning but also research collaboration, collaborative knowledge production and networking. However, it can also involve unequal power relations between institutions and countries, particularly between those from the Global South and the Global North.

Refers to the movement of individuals, families, or groups in society in terms of their educational level. Those who are the first generation in their families to attend university are a typical example of educational mobility. Higher education levels across generations are associated with increased knowledge in diverse subjects, better occupational prospects, and higher income. 

Refers to very small groups of people who enjoy a disproportionate influence in society. In their social background, education, and occupations, elites are predominantly more privileged than non-elite populations. However, elites can also be composed by people from disadvantaged backgrounds via processes of upward mobility. Although elites tend to be interconnected, there are different type of them. Economic elites, typically in control of powerful economic institutions or organisations, can influence important economic decisions within and across societies. Cultural elites typically enjoy a high influence in noneconomic spheres such as the arts, letters, and civic associations.

Refers to a multi-dimensional social process that improves the capacity of individuals, groups, and communities to maximise the quality of their lives. It is not solely an individual process, but involves collective action for social change. It emphasises the importance of building supportive networks and engaging in collective efforts to challenge oppressive structures and policies. It recognises that power is unequally distributed in society, and seeks to address and redress power imbalances. It aims to dismantle systemic barriers, discrimination, and inequalities that limit individuals' opportunities and voice, and to create conditions that enable individuals and communities to exercise greater control over their own lives.

Refers to how evenly access to resources, rights and opportunities is distributed throughout individuals, families, and societies. Most democratic societies seek greater equality for their members, in fields as diverse as education, justice and health. However, in most nations, rising levels of income and wealth inequality have stalled or countered the efforts made to achieve greater equality. Therefore, most societies have been working to achieve equality for individuals, trying to bring more opportunities and access to resources. For example, in some countries the access to a quality education and public health is guaranteed as a right for everyone.

Is the principle stating that the allocation of individuals to places in society is determined by some form of competitive process, in which all members should be eligible to compete on equal terms. In practice, this means striving to make people’s lifetime opportunities as independent as possible from their parents’ resources, their gender, ethnic background, and place of birth. The resulting society should thus be shaped by people’s own choices and efforts. This principle has gained widespread traction across the world, and is highly important for enhancing social mobility, but rising inequality threatens its successful implementation.

Refers to the barriers faced by ethnic minorities in their careers due to their ethnicity in different occupational fields (e.g., culture, politics, and business). The barriers experienced by ethnic minorities are visible across different societies (e.g., Haitians in Chile, Maori in New Zealand, or Inuit in Canada) because of their skin colour, the way they speak, and where they come from. The ethnic ceiling can adopt two main forms. The first is the lower wages that ethnic minorities receive for the work they do, particularly in top income occupations. The second concerns the low representation of ethnic minorities in senior positions in most organisations, positions typically held by white men. 

Refers to a distinct ethnic group that exists within a larger society but maintains its own unique identity, practices, and geographical space within that society. Ethnic enclaves are often formed as a result of migration or the settlement of marginalised or disadvantaged groups seeking support, protection, or the preservation of their cultural heritage. Ethnic enclaves are characterised by a sense of cohesion and solidarity among their members, who share common characteristics, experiences, or affiliations. They may offer a space where individuals can maintain and express their cultural, linguistic, or religious identity. Examples of Enclaves are Cubans in Miami and Chinese in New York City.

Refers to a group of individuals with a common culture. Thus, the group members share a cultural identity which is rooted in common practices, values and beliefs that distinguish them from other social groups. Cultural aspects such as language, ancestry, geographical location and religion are, among others, essential properties shaping ethnicity. How to respect and recognize ethnic diversity within educational settings is a central challenge for inclusive growth.

Refers to the process through which individuals or groups are marginalised, distanced, or excluded from different spheres of society (e.g., education, work, health). It involves restricting or denying individuals or groups opportunities for participation in the decision-making processes of social life, which deteriorates social cohesion and social integration in society. There are different types of exclusion, such as social, economic, cultural, or political, and the exclusion in one of these spheres may increase the risk of exclusion in another.

Are the ideas and beliefs about the future that inform individuals’ behaviour, actions, choices, and decisions. Expectations imply realistic evaluations and estimations regarding one’s future possibilities within society. Individuals have educational or occupational expectations, which are influenced by different structural constraints (based on wealth, gender, or ethnicity) that limit people's opportunities and options. Thus, for instance, while members of the upper class often show high educational expectations, working-class individuals tend to present lower expectations.

Refers to a principle encouraging the impartial and just treatment of people in spheres as diverse as education, workplace, and the access to justice. Under this general principle, people should relate to each other as equals within societies defined by reciprocity and the commitment to equality of opportunity, as well as the avoidance of favouritism or discrimination. Fairness and equality can be similar concepts but are not the same. Fairness is giving people the same opportunities or chances regardless of their status in life, whereas equality refers to how evenly access to resources, rights and opportunities is distributed throughout individuals, families, and societies.

Refers to the amount of resources families or households accumulate over time. Unlike private wealth, which largely focuses on financial capital, family wealth encompasses wider resources, such as stocks, bonds, and other investments, as well as real estate and family businesses. Family wealth tends to be transmitted by one generation of a family to another. This process of intergenerational wealth transmission within families is shaped by a wide array of factors, including class background, gender, and ethnicity. Family wealth, particularly among rich households, plays a highly significant role in the reproduction of inequality in societies, ensuring wealth stays concentrated by passing it on to the family’s next generation.