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Nature of Social Inequality in Bangladesh

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Prepared ByMd. Saeed AnwarSociology Discipline

Khulna University

Khulna, Bangladesh

IntroductionSociologists see society as a stratification system that is based on a hierarchy of power (the ability to direct someone else’s behavior), privilege (honor and respect), and prestige (income, wealth, and property), which leads to patterns of social inequality (Crossman, 2012).

Social inequality refers to relational processes in society that have the effect of limiting or harming a group’s social status, social class, and social circle (ibid, 2012).

Social inequality is typically tied to race, gender, and class, with whites, males, those with higher education levels, and those with higher income levels sitting at the top of the hierarchy (ibid, 2012).

There are many types of inequalities, such as power, wealth, poverty, income, social class, education, occupation, gender, race and ethnicity, age, and even region on a local and global level (ibid, 2012).

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Social Inequality

Max Weber explain social inequality in terms of the relationship

between class, status and party (Spark Notes, 2003).

Status is related to inequalities that are to do with the way in which

people judge and relate to each other (ibid, 2003).

Class is to do with inequalities that have their source in the

workings of capitalism and the market place and party is related to

concepts of politics in its broadest sense (ibid, 2003).

Karl Marx explain inequality in terms of the ownership of wealth

and the control of material possessions. This is a very simple view

and does not take into account all of the other forms of inequality we

experience in society (Spark Notes, 2003).

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Sociologist view of Social InequalityThere are two main views of social inequality within sociology through which it is possible to identify the effect of social inequality. One view aligns with the functionalist theory and the other aligns with conflict theory.

Functionalist theorists believe that inequality is inevitable and desirable and plays an important function in society. Important positions in society require more training and thus should receive more rewards. Social inequality and social stratification, according to this view, lead to a meritocracy based on ability (Crossman, 2012 ).

Conflict theorists, on the other hand, view inequality as resulting from groups with power dominating less powerful groups. They believe that social inequality prevents and hinders societal progress as those in power repress the powerless people in order to maintain the status quo. Positions are important so long as those in power consider them to be significant (ibid, 2012)

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Elements of Social Inequality

According to Max Weber there are three elements of inequality in society. Such as-

Inequality of Wealth (Salary)

Inequality of Prestige (Standard of Living)

Inequality of Power (Politics)

(Wikipedia, 2013)

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Determinants of Social Inequality in Bangladesh

Biological or Natural elements

Natural inequality on the basis of sex

Social inequality on the basis of age

Non- biological or Social elements

Social labor division and inequality

Social inequality on the basis of class

Social inequality on the basis of power

Social inequality on the basis of social roles

Social inequality on the basis of caste

(yahoo answer, 2006)7

Cause of Social InequalityBangladesh is a developing country and social inequality in one of the important barriers of development in our country. There are many causes social inequality in our country like-

Structural and social institutions

Lack of explicit policy initiatives

Preoccupied mindset

Economic hardship

Geographic isolation

Low parental education

High population growth rate

Social relationship

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Cause of Social Inequality

Environmental degradation and climate change

Inadequacies in regulatory regimes

High rate of unemployment

Kinship

Political instability

Unequal distribution of wealth

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Unnayan Onneshan, 2011

Trends of Social Inequality in Bangladesh

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Literacy and Dropout InequalityThe percentage of the literate children also varies according to the gender. The literacy of the male children was 49.5 percent in 2000 at national level, which has been increased to 61.12 percent in 2010 with an annual average increasing rate of 1.16 percent. Whereas, the literacy rate of the female children at national level was 40.1 percent in 2000, which has, been increased to 54.8 percent in 2010 with an annual average increasing rate of 1.47 percent. Inequality prevails in the percentage of dropped male and female children.

Literacy Rate (%) National Level

Dropout Rate before Primary level (%)

Year Male Female Year Male Female

2000 49.5 40.1 2000 14.6 4.9

2005 55.8 48.1 2005 13.5 7.39

2010 61.12 54.8 2010 10.2 3.32

Unnayan Onneshan, 201111

Primary Education Completion Inequality

The Primary completion rate; male (% of relevant age group) in Bangladesh was 62.07 in 2009.

The Primary completion rate; female (% of relevant age group) in Bangladesh was 68.81 in 2009.

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Inequality between Male and Female Students (%)

Year Male Female

2005 62.28 67.83

2006 55.61 59.55

2008 55.57 62.3

2009 62.07 68.81

The World Bank, 2010

Employment Inequality by Gender In 1993-94, employed male population was 57.5 percent and it was 10.6 percent for female at the national level. The percentage of employed population for both male and female has decreased to 44.2 percent and 9.7 respectively in 1999-2000.

This might be due to the beginning of the global recession at that time period. Again, the percentage of employed male and female has increased to 68.3 percent and 22.9 percent in 2007 from 67.5 percent and 15.2 percent in 2004 respectively at the national level.

National Level of Employment Rate-First Class Job (%)

Year Male Female

1993-94 57.5 10.6

1999-00 44.2 9.7

2004 67.5 15.2

2007 68.3 22.9

2010 70.1 25.7 Unnayan Onneshan, 201113

Unemployment inequality by Gender The number of population who are unemployed are still increasing. Unemployed population has increased from 1.3 million in 1995-96 to 2.7 million in 2009 with an average of 0.13 million per year.

In case of male, it has increased with an annual average of 0.06 million and for female it was 0.05 million at the same time period (1995-96 to 2009). Under these circumstances, providing employment status for the country’s population remains a big challenge for the government.

Unemployment inequality by GenderYear Total (million) Male (million) Female (million)1995-96 1.3 0.9 0.4 1999-2000 1.8 1.1 0.7 2002-2003 2.0 1.5 0.5 2005-06 2.1 1.2 0.9 2009 2.7 1.7 1.0

Unnayan Onneshan, 2011 14

Poverty Inequality

YearPoverty Rate

National Rural Urban

1991-1992 56.8 59.0 42.61995-1996 50.1 54.5 27.82000 48.9 35.1 25.32005 40.0 43.8 28.42010 31.5 35.2 21.3

Islam, 2011

Poverty is one of the main problems of our country after liberation in 1971 and after the year of 1990 Bangladesh made considerable progress in alleviating poverty both rural and urban area but there is gap or inequality between rural and urban poverty reduction. Urban poverty rate reduce quickly but rural poverty rate in slow process .

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Health InequalityBangladesh has achieved some progress in health sector and has been successful in raising the average life expectation of its population. However, the situation of female health is still poor. Health care for women is still restricted to their reproductive health and that is why their general health remains quite neglected.

Child Mortality per Thousand Live Births by Gender

Year Male Female

1993-94 46.7 62.3

1996-97 36.9 47.0

1999-00 28.4 37.7

2004 24.0 29.0

2007 16.0 20.0

2010 10.0 14.0

Unnayan Onneshan, 2011 16

Skilled Birth Attendance Service

The proportion of births attended by a skilled health worker is low in the slums (no doctors and nurses), also in rural area than the urban area.

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Inequality among Rural, Urban and Slum Area in Bangladesh (%)

Year Urban Area Rural Area Slum Area

2006 38.0 14.0 11.5

2009 45.0 19.0 15.0

(UNICEF, 2010)

Class Inequality

Upper Class: The upper class is the social class composed of those who are wealthy, well-born, or both. They usually wield the greatest political power. Ex. Politician, Industrialist Middle Class: The middle class is the most contested of the three categorizations, the broad group of people in contemporary society who fall socio-economically between the lower and upper classes. Ex. Teacher, TradersLower Class: Lower class (occasionally described as working class) are those employed in low-paying wage jobs with very little economic security. Ex. Labor, foreman (Wikipedia, 2013).

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Caste Inequality

Caste Occupational inequality

Brahmans Priests, Scholars

Kshatriyas Rulers, nobles, soldiers

Vaisyas Businessman, bankers

Sudras Laborers, artisans

Bangladesh came into existence as an independent state only 32 years ago. Historically however it has a multifaceted heritage, enriched by its ancient Buddhist, Hindu and Muslim roots. It is through this deeply rooted psycho-social heritage that untouchability has been ingrained into the social fabric of the country. Traditions of hierarchy and patronage, the strongholds of the caste system, remain strong among Bengalis irrespective of their caste and creed. Even religions have failed to ensure social equality due to centuries of cultural indoctrination and present political convenience. (Khan, 2010).

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Gender, Wage and Age InequalityGender inequality: Gender inequality is a result of the persistent discrimination of one group of people based upon gender and it manifests itself differently according to race, culture, politics, country and economic situation (Unnayan Onneshan, 2011). Wages inequality: The issue of wages is also central for women workers. Studies have been shown that they are often lowly and irregularly paid and subjected to discrimination by way of   less pay than their male co-workers (Khan, 2010). Age inequality: Age inequality is discrimination on the grounds of age. Although theoretically the word can refer to the discrimination against any age group, age inequality usually comes in one of three forms: discrimination against youth, discrimination against those 40 years old or older, and discrimination against elderly people (Khan, 2010).

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Urban and Rural InequalityBangladesh is a developing country and most if the people live in the rural area but they are deprived from many modern facilities than urban area. There are many indicators between urban and rural areas which create inequality between the both area.

Indicator Urban Rural

Skilled attendant at birth 45% 19%

Adult literacy (Women aged 15-49 years) 66% 48%

Net attendance ratio in secondary education 53% 48%

Gender parity index in secondary education 1.08% 1.18

Comprehensive correct knowledge on HIV and AIDS 18% 13%

Youth literacy (Women aged 15-24 years) 77% 70%

(UNICEF, 2010)21

Urban and Rural Inequality

Urban and Rural inequality

Indicator Urban Area Rural Area

Estimated Population 38 Million 112 Million

Use of open or “hanging latrines” 2% 5%

Net attendance ratio in primary education

64% 81%

Estimated investment need for urban water supply between 2010 – 2015

USD 2.36 billion

USD 0.64 billion

UNICEF, 2010

Bangladesh is undergoing one of the fastest urbanization processes in Asia. But there have gap between urban and rural Bangladesh on the basis of following indicators.

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Income InequalityThe Gini co-efficient measures inequality. This is the most popular composite indicator that summarises the extent of concentration (inequality) of household income. Gini co-efficient can vary between ‘0’ and ‘1’. The ‘1’ is the most unequal state and the ‘0’ is the most equal state. Gini co-efficient of income has increased from 0.393 in 2000 to 0.430 in 2010 at rural areas whereas it has decreased from 0.497 to 0.452 at the same period in urban areas.

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Year Rural Area Urban Area

2000 0.393 0.497

2005 0.428 0.497

2010 0.430 0.452

Growth Rate 0.94 -0.91

Unnayan Onneshan, 2011

Population Growth Rate Inequality Rural population refers to people living in rural areas and Urban population refers to people living in urban areas.

The Urban population growth (annual %) in Bangladesh was 2.85 in 2010.

The Rural population growth (annual %) in Bangladesh was 0.46 in 2010.

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Rural-Urban Population Growth Rate (%)

Year Rural Area Urban Area

2003 1.1 3.36

2005 0.84 3.05

2007 0.47 2.94

2010 0.46 2.85

The World Bank, 2012

Labor Participation inequality (15+ Age)Labor force participation rate is the proportion of the population ages 15 and older that is economically active: all people who supply labor for the production of goods and services during a specified period.

The Labor participation rate; female (% of female population ages 15+) in Bangladesh was 56.90 in 2010.

The Labor participation rate; male (% of male population ages 15+) in Bangladesh was 84.40 in 2010.

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Male and Female Participation in Work (%)

Year Male Female

2003 85.3 55.0

2005 85.0 55.5

2007 84.7 56.1

2010 84.4 56.9

The World Bank, 2012

ConclusionSocial inequality refers to disparities in the distribution of economic assets and income, while economic inequality is caused by the unequal accumulation of wealth.

Social inequality exists because the lack of wealth in certain areas prohibits these people from obtaining the same housing, health care, etc. as the wealthy, in societies where access to these social goods depends on wealth.

Finally we can say that mainly inequality occurs in Bangladesh on the basis of prestige, power, wealth, rank, class, ethnicity etc. Social inequality has been long recognized both as the cause and as the effect of underdevelopment.

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ReferenceCrossman, A., 2012. Sociology Definition of the Week: Social Inequality. Retrieved from

http://sociology.about.com/b/2012/05/09/sociology-definition-of-the-week-social- inequality.htm Accessdate 10 May, 2013

Khan, Md. M. A., 2010. Discrimination in the Labour Market of Bangladesh & International Standard. Stamford University Bangladesh, Dhaka. Kumar, B,. 2012. Complete information on the meaning and characteristics of social

stratification, Retrieved from http://www.preservearticles.com/201102214099/complete-information-on-the- meaning-and-characteristics-of-social-stratification.html Access date 10 May, 2013

Spark Notes, 2003. Social Stratification and Inequality. Retrieved from http://www.sparknotes.com/sociology/social-stratification-and-inequality/section4.rhtml Accessdate 10 May, 2013 The World Bank, 2012. Annual Report of Bangladesh. Washington D.C, USA..The World Bank, 2010. Annual Report of Bangladesh. Washington D.C, USA.UNICEF, 2010. Understanding Urban Inequalities in Bangladesh: A prerequisite for achieving Vision 2021. Dhaka,

BangladeshUnnayan Onneshan, 2011. Gender Inequality in Bangladesh. Indira Road, Farmgate Dhaka-1205, Bangladesh. Unnayan Onneshan, 2011. Inequality in Primary Education of Bangladesh. Indira Road, Farmgate, Dhaka-1205, Bangladesh. Wikipedia, 2013. Social class. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_class Access date 10 May, 2013Wikipedia, 2013. Social inequality, Retrieved from http://www.espncricinfo.com/indian- premierleague-2013/engine/match/598056.html, Access date 10 May, 2013Wikipedia, 2013. Social stratification Retrieved from

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_stratification Access date 10 May, 2013Yahoo answer, 2006. What is social inequality? Retrieved fromhttp://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070816180056AAUibk4, Access date 10 May. 2013

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