Socioeconomic Status

477 Words2 Pages

Race is one of the number one issues overlooked in the discussions regarding economic stability, however it may just be one of the biggest factors. The term race can be simply defined as one’s ethnic background and skin complexion, however society gives it new meaning. Race can be related to many social issues going on in society today, but the focal point of this review is its correlation with one’s socioeconomic status, commonly abbreviated as SES. In other words, SES plays a vital role in both racial self-categorization and classification by society. Race is also a self-defined, concept. Roxburgh (2009) believes, people with a higher SES are more likely to be categorized, and categorize themselves, in higher status racial groups, such as White, in comparison to those with a much lower SES, such as Black people. Her ideas regarding the way one may categorizes themselves is definitely noteworthy. If one can …show more content…

Following Brannon and Markus (2013), socioeconomic status (SES) is often measured as a combination of educational proficiency, annual income, and occupation. Based off their research, race is not one of the defining factors. I definitely believe their definition is accurate however I believe it can be manipulated further. Taking it a step further is exactly what Nichol-Wyatt and Brown did. According to them, “social class has been conceptualized through both structural and demonstrational approaches, interpreting classes as a matrix of fixed categories in which individuals move up or down a continuum while socioeconomic status interprets class as group identities shaped by common, shared experiences” (2008; 98). Here it can be seen that socioeconomic status is defined as the grouping of individuals with “common, shared experiences” or similar situations such as low income, limited occupational opportunities or inadequate educational