Intersections with Subjective Social Status

The Stop Skipping Class Campaign's recommendation for accurately assessing socioeconomic status affects health and achievement outcomes, is to remember that SES intersects with other social constructs such as race or ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation and gender identity, and ability status. These intersections can result in differential poverty rates and income disparities, which reflect one's power and privilege (APA, 2007).

Due to a long history of discrimination in the United States, racial and ethnic minorities are disproportionately represented in lower SES groups. Residential segregation may result in concentrations of poverty, which lead to smaller social networks, poorer quality schools and less access to goods and services (APA, 2007). Discrimination also affects acquisition of wealth, as racial and ethnic minorities have often encountered racism within the education system, worksites and pay (APA, 2007).

Women often earn less than their male counterparts, even when each has the same level of education or occupation. The 2006 American Community Survey found that the salaries of American women are about 77 percent of that of American men, and among individuals possessing a graduate or professional degree, women earn two-thirds of what men earn (U.S. Census Bureau, 2006). This may help account for high poverty rates among single-parent mother-headed households. Women also live longer than men, which has implications for their well-being at older ages (APA, 2007).

Although a "myth of gay affluence" predominates, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals often experience lower SES than the general population (APA, 2007). Though education levels may be higher for LGB individuals, subsequent benefits are not reflected in individual or family incomes (McGarrity, 2014). LGBT individuals who are barred from legal marriage may be denied access to economic benefits, including spousal insurance coverage, inheritance rights and tax relief (APA, 2007). Transgender individuals have also been found to live in extreme poverty — a sample of transgender adults in the United States found that participants were nearly four times more likely to have a household income of less than $10,000 per year compared to the general population (Grant, Mottet and Tanis, 2011).

Individuals with disabilities are disproportionately unemployed or underemployed, which contributes to high rates of poverty within this population (APA, 2007). Although the Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities, they often have fewer opportunities to earn an income (APA, 2015). Misperceptions about the productivity, interpersonal skills and psychological adjustment of persons with disabilities from Human Resources and project managers may contribute to unemployment disparities (Chan, 2008). Education barriers may also contribute to high rates of poverty among persons with disabilities: a larger percentage of people with disabilities fail to complete high school (Steinmetz, 2006), and people with disabilities are also less likely to have obtained a bachelor's degree or higher (U.S. Census Bureau, 2006).