A changing landscape? An intersectional analysis of race and gender disparity in access to social capital

Bibliographic Data

ID2155674
AuthorsSong Yang (0000-0002-6712-3991, Department of Sociology and Criminology, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA, corresponding author), Brandon A Jackson (0009-0001-1209-8397, Department of Sociology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, USA), Anna Zajicek (Department of Sociology and Criminology, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA)
Year2021
Volume41
Issue1
Pages80-95
Publication date2021-01-02
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueSociological Spectrum (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0273-2173 • E-ISSN: 1521-0707
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/02732173.2020.1850375
OpenAlexW3112915028
LanguageEN
Citations received6
References cited53

We apply intersectional frameworks and use a nationally representative dataset to investigate patterns of differential access to social capital among six racial and gender groups. We define social capital as resources controlled by individuals’ social contacts. Individuals can mobilize those contacts to facilitate their actions. We characterize one’s access to social capital with three indicators: the average occupational prestige score of individuals’ social contacts (average), the highest occupation reached among individuals’ contacts (reach), and the number of positions accessed (network diversity). Concerning the average score of one’s social contacts, our findings support the double jeopardy approach, with a simple hierarchy of gender and race/ethnicity: all men have a higher average score than their women counterparts. However, although white men have the highest average score in their social contacts, black women have the highest reach and highest network diversity, net of effects from mediating controls. We discuss implications of our research for future studies of social capital, on the one hand, and intersectionality, especially as it relates to the notions of black male and Latino male vulnerability, on the other

Capital (architecture) · Demographic economics · Economics · Geography · Intersectionality · Race (biology) · Social capital · Social mobility · Social science · Sociology · Gender Studies · Gender, Labor, and Family Dynamics · Social Capital and Networks · Social Policy and Reform Studies

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