Comparing Complex Inequalities in a Global Context

1. Comparing Complex Inequalities in a Global Context Sylvia Walby UNESCO Chair in Gender Research Lancaster University

2. Introduction • Contested approaches to equality • Contested concepts of fairness and progress • Broadening the concept of equality • Measuring changes in inequality and progress, implications of: • Globalisation and varieties of modernity • Gender and class

3. Contested approaches to equality • Multiple complex inequalities: • Class, gender, ethnicity, disability age, religion, sexual orientation • Intersecting: mutually constitutive or mutually adapting (Crenshaw, McCall) • Difference and diversity • Sameness/difference/transformation (Fraser, Rees, Scott) • Legitimacy of arenas for equality/equal treatment • Negotiation; trade unions; NGOs; state, law; equality commissions • EU: Treaties (Rome, Amsterdam), Directives • Equal treatment in employment, sale of goods and services • Mainstreaming: duty on public bodies to promote equality • EU: Gender gaps in employment, pay • Dimensions of equality • Economic: employment, wages, income (individual, household), wealth, education (Hills) • Longevity (UNDP) (infant, maternal mortality: MDG) • Depth of democracy: suffrage, presence, range

4. Frameworks of fairness and progress • “Progress”: competing projects • Equality • In itself; for other outcomes (Wilkinson , Picket) • Equal treatment (legal) • Human rights • Universal (UN); minimal thresholds • Economic development/growth • Income per person (most governments) • Human development • Longevity, education, income (Sen) • UNDP, MDG (UN, World Bank, OECD) • Capabilities (Sen) • GEO measurement framework (Vizard, Burchardt)

5. Globalization and inequalities • Multiple global processes • Globalization challenge to ‘nation-state = society’ • World not fully global • Societalisationas a process • Increase in inequality? • Some regions not others? • Some inequalities not others? • Are class, gender and ethnic relations changing in the same or different ways? • Units for analysis? • Tension between use of ‘global’ and ‘country’ as units of analysis for study of inequality

6. Varieties of modernity: neoliberal to social democratic • Global regions • Global North: neoliberalism to social democracy • Continuum (Kenworthy > Esping-Andersen) • More e.g. China state capitalist • In all regimes of inequality: gender regime as well as class • Key distinction: Inequality and democratic governance • Economy • Regulation of finance and employment; state welfare • Polity • Depth of democracy: suffrage, presence, range of institutions • Violence • Regulation of violence against women and minorities; minimal deployment in war • Civil society • Mutualism or commercialisation

7. Neoliberalism and social democracy Key differences between neoliberalism and social democracy: Depth of democracy: governance through democracy rather than by capital or the market Extent of inequality Neoliberalism and social democracy are: not confined to class relations, but extend to gender relations and other regimes of inequality Not confined to the domain of the economy, but extend to polity, violence and civil society as well

8. Comparing changes in equality and progress: concepts and measurement • Longevity and income • Economic development/growth • Measuring economic inequality • implications of globalization and households • Knowledge economy • Financial crisis, global regions and gender • Non-economic inequalities • Democracy • violence

9. Longevity and income: 1975-2005

10. Longevity and income: Comparing USA and EU 1975-2005 • US citizens are richer than in EU • US: $37436; EU:$26037 • (2005, PPP, $constant2000,EMU) (World Bank) • US citizens die sooner than in EU • US: 77.7; EU 79.7 • (2005, EMU) (World Bank) • USA • More growth in income: 89% • Smaller increase in longevity: 7.0% (5.1 years) • EU • Less but still significant growth in income - 81% • Larger increase in longevity: 10.2% (7.4 years) • US less effective than EU in turning income into life • Neoliberalism less efficient than social democracy

11. ‘Global’ economic inequalities: Which unit: country or world? Is global inequality going up or down? What unit? (Milanovic) inequalities in each country, summed, OR world as a whole Each country, summed Inequality within many countries is increasing (Korzeniewicz and Moran) World Inequalities between countries are greater than inequalities within countries (Korzeniewicz) Fast economic growth in China (and India) is reducing overall global economic inequality (Firebaugh) In transition, from country to world as key unit

12. Which unit to measure economic inequality: Household or individual? Most comparative work on global economic inequalities uses household as unit of analysis Most shows increase in class inequality within countries Household as unit makes economic gender inequalities invisible False assumption of equal sharing in household Changes in gender inequality invisible

13. Cchanges using Gini and household as unit, OECD

14. Class changes using Gini and household as unit, OECD

15. Female employment rate 1997, 2007, EU

16. Gender pay gap, 1996, 2006, EU

17. Divergent class and gender inequalities Changes in class focused and gender focused inequalities are changing in opposite directions Gender system and class system do not map onto each other, but intersect and mutually adapt

18. Gender and the unit of measurement of inequality • Household • Individual • Gender employment gap (EU) • Same standard? Transformation? • How is domestic care work positioned? Equal valuation of different contributions? • Significance varies by global region and form of gender regime • Gender pay gap (EU) • Same standard?

19. Knowledge economy • What is the knowledge economy? • Gendered definitions • High tech manufacturing: • largely male • ICT/IT: • largely male • Knowledge intensive services • Education, health, financial services • Gender balance, slightly more women • Gendered implications of policy

20. Gender and the financial crisis • Which gender is hurt most in different global regions? • First wave of job losses • North • Southern regions • Second wave of job losses • North • Southern regions • Depends on regionally specific occupational and industrial gender segregation

21. Depth of Democracy Social democracy deeper democracy than neoliberalism No hereditary or unelected positions no colonies no non-democratic polities, e.g. organised religion; universal suffrage, de facto as well as de jure; Elections: and whether free, fair, competitive elections; free speech, association low cost of electioneering electoral system with proportional representation; quotas for under-represented groups proportionate parliamentary presence: e.g. women range of institutions governed by democratic polity

22. Violence • Violence as fourth institutional domain alongside economy, polity and civil society • Constitutive as well as outcome of inequalities • Is violence an inequality in itself as well? • Clustering of inter-personal and inter-state violence • Correlation of violence with inequality

23. Variations in violence

24. Correlation between different forms of violence, OECD

25. Conclusions • Concept and measurement of equality • Include more domains than income and employment • Longevity, depth of democracy, violence • When longevity used to compare countries, EU>USA. • Variations in violence matter • Globalization • If global the unit then inequality decreasing; if summation of countries, then inequality increasing • Class and gender inequalities not changing in the same direction • Emergence of new gendered political constituencies • Inequality: core concept for social science and public policy