Nursery World - A Unique Child: Inequality

Why is inequality an important subject to tackle and what are our attitudes to it, asks Mary Dickins in the first of a four-part series

The concept of inequality is important because it is known that countries with high levels of inequality such as the UK are also likely to have high levels of poverty and disadvantage. We know that people in more equal societies tend to live longer, have better mental health and have better chances for a good education regardless of their background. Importantly, community life and social cohesion have been shown to be stronger where the income gap is narrower.

From this perspective, the problems of material inequality and poverty are fundamentally linked to the issue of how resources are distributed and redistributed in a country. Furthermore, writers and researchers such as Wilkinson and Pickett (2009) have provided a convincing argument that it is inequality itself that has given rise to many of our social ills, including a lack of social mobility.

Register now to continue reading

Thank you for visiting Nursery World and making use of our archive of more than 35,000 expert features, subject guides, case studies and policy updates. Why not register today and enjoy the following great benefits:

What's included