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https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/society/2022/07/exclusive-should-class-snobbery-be-banned>
Classism should be banned under the
Equality Act, argues the British
Psychological Society in new research seen exclusively by the
New Statesman.
In a report highlighting the psychological impact of snobbery in schools,
healthcare and at work, academics say social class should become a protected
characteristic under law.
The British Psychological Society wants the 2010
Equality Act – legislation
that protects people from prejudice based on age, sex, race and other
characteristics – to include social class.
The report, called “Psychology of social class-based inequalities”, reveals the
damaging effects of class-based discrimination in key parts of life.
It defines social class using three measures: economic capital, social capital
and cultural capital. In other words: “financial resources, who you know and
what you know”, I was told by Dr Bridgette Rickett, the report’s lead author
and head of psychology at Leeds Beckett University.
Defining class is complex. Establishing a uniform definition and auditing it in
workplaces would be a key benefit of allowing it to be included in the
Equality Act, she said.
“The words escape us when talking about class, even though we experience it
quite profoundly… It’s what rules we know, our clothes, the way we speak, our
accent, how we understand the world,” she said. “Research indicates these are
used in an ‘implicit poshness test’ in some of the most influential
occupations.”
Via Muse, who wrote "Yes. Yes, it should!"
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
