View source for Class discrimination

{{short description|Discrimination on the basis of social class}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}
'''Class discrimination''', also known as '''classism''', is [[prejudice]] or [[discrimination]] on the basis of [[social class]]. It includes individual attitudes, behaviors, systems of policies and practices that are set up to benefit the [[upper class]] at the expense of the [[Under class|lower class]].<ref name=Kadi>{{cite book|last=Kadi|first=Joanna|title=Thinking Class|publisher=[[South End Press]]|year=1996|url=https://archive.org/details/thinkingclassske00kadi|url-access=registration|isbn=0-89608-548-1}}</ref>
Social class refers to the grouping of individuals in a hierarchy based on wealth, income, education, occupation, and social network.

Studies show an intersection between class discrimination and [[racism]] and [[sexism]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.livescience.com/16961-sexism-racism-linked-personality.html | title=Sexism and Racism Linked to Personality | website=[[Live Science]] | date=9 November 2011 }}</ref> In countries such as India, Singapore, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, classism intersects with [[casteism]] and continues to be reinforced even within their diasporic communities, despite being illegal in the host countries where they reside.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-06-23 |title=Big Tech's big problem is also its 'best-kept secret': Caste discrimination |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/big-techs-big-problem-also-best-kept-secret-caste-discrimination-rcna33692 |website=NBC News |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Casteism and Classism |url=https://grassrootsasians.org/updates/casteism-and-classism |website=Grassroots Asians Rising |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Chan |first=Cheryl |date=2014-01-09 |title=India banned the caste system 60 years ago, but it lives on for many in Metro Vancouver |url=https://theprovince.com/news/racism/india-banned-the-caste-system-60-years-ago-but-it-lives-on-for-many-in-metro-vancouver |website=The Province}}</ref> Legislation shows efforts to reduce such intersections and classism at an individual level.

== History ==
Class structures existed in a simplified form in pre-agricultural societies, but it has evolved into a more complex and established structure following the establishment of permanent agriculture-based civilizations with a food surplus.<ref>{{cite book|title=A Brief History of the World Course No. 8080 [Audio CD]|author=Peter N. Stearns (Narrator)|publisher=The Teaching Company|asin=B000W595CC}}</ref>

Segregation into classes was accomplished through observable traits (such as race or profession) that were accorded varying statuses and privileges.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Young|first1=Serinity|title=Encyclopedia of Women and World Religion|date=1999|publisher=Macmillan|isbn=0028648609|page=181|author2=Katie Cannon|editor=Serinity Young|format=Print|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RYgYAAAAIAAJ}}</ref> Feudal classification systems might include merchant, serf, peasant, warrior, priestly, and noble classes.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Brown |first=Elizabeth A. R. |date=1974 |title=The Tyranny of a Construct: Feudalism and Historians of Medieval Europe |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1869563 |journal=The American Historical Review |volume=79 |issue=4 |pages=1063–1088 |doi=10.2307/1869563 |jstor=1869563 |issn=0002-8762}}</ref> Rankings were far from invariant with the merchant class in Europe outranking the peasantry, while merchants were explicitly inferior to peasants during the [[Tokugawa Shogunate]] in Japan. Other prominent forms of classism include India's caste system, where caste and class often intersected and caused discrimination against certain peoples.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Sana |first=Arunoday |date=1993-01-01 |title=The Caste System in India and Its Consequences |url=https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/eb013170/full/html |journal=International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy |volume=13 |issue=3/4 |pages=1–76 |doi=10.1108/eb013170 |issn=0144-333X}}</ref>

Modern classism, with less rigid class structures, is harder to identify. In a professional association posting, psychologist Thomas Fuller-Rowell states, "Experiences of [class] discrimination are often subtle rather than blatant, and the exact reason for unfair treatment is often not clear to the victim."{{r|APS}}

==Intersections with other systems of oppression==
Both gender and racial inequality intersect with class discrimination, influencing economic opportunities and social mobility for marginalized groups.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Scheurich |first1=James Joseph |last2=Mason |first2=Madeline |date=October 2024 |title=An Intersectionality-Based Research Framework and Methodology That Emphasizes Systemic Inequities in Public Schooling, Including Racism, Sexism, and Classism |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/15327086241254815 |journal=Cultural Studies ↔ Critical Methodologies |language=en |volume=24 |issue=5 |pages=319–330 |doi=10.1177/15327086241254815 |issn=1532-7086}}</ref>

Class discrimination and gender inequality intersect by shaping economic disparities that disproportionately affect women, particularly those in lower-income groups.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Chan |first=Jenny |date=September 2023 |title=Class, labour conflict, and workers' organisation |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S1035304623000418/type/journal_article |journal=The Economic and Labour Relations Review |language=en |volume=34 |issue=3 |pages=383–394 |doi=10.1017/elr.2023.41 |issn=1838-2673|hdl=10397/102023 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> Research indicates that women are more likely to be employed in low-wage and part-time jobs, limiting their financial security and career advancement opportunities.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Beauregard |first=Katrine |date=2018-07-03 |title=Partisanship and the gender gap: support for gender quotas in Australia |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10361146.2018.1449802 |journal=Australian Journal of Political Science |language=en |volume=53 |issue=3 |pages=290–319 |doi=10.1080/10361146.2018.1449802 |issn=1036-1146}}</ref> Occupational segregation, where women are overrepresented in sectors such as caregiving and retail, contributes to persistent wage gaps.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Blau |first1=Francine D. |last2=Brummund |first2=Peter |last3=Liu |first3=Albert Yung-Hsu |date=2013-04-01 |title=Trends in Occupational Segregation by Gender 1970–2009: Adjusting for the Impact of Changes in the Occupational Coding System |url=https://read.dukeupress.edu/demography/article/50/2/471/169671/Trends-in-Occupational-Segregation-by-Gender-1970 |journal=Demography |language=en |volume=50 |issue=2 |pages=471–492 |doi=10.1007/s13524-012-0151-7 |pmid=23055237 |issn=0070-3370|hdl=10419/58842 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>  For example, as of 2022, Black women make up 6% of employed workers but are 32% of home aids, where they earn on average $23,803 per year.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-03-29 |title=Occupational Segregation in America |url=https://www.americanprogress.org/article/occupational-segregation-in-america/#two-tables |access-date=2025-03-13 |website=Center for American Progress |language=en}}</ref> Women constitute nearly two-thirds of workers in the 20 occupations with the lowest median wages for full-time, year-round employees.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ockerman |first=Emma |date=2023-03-14 |title=Women are overrepresented in lower-paying jobs. It's costing them billions. |url=https://www.marketwatch.com/story/women-are-overrepresented-in-lower-paying-jobs-its-costing-them-billions-of-dollars-ab234f8?utm_source=chatgpt.com |access-date=2025-03-15 |website=MarketWatch |language=EN-US}}</ref> Additionally, economic barriers can exacerbate gender inequality in access to education and leadership positions, reinforcing systemic disadvantages.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Uhlaner |first1=Carole Jean |last2=Scola |first2=Becki |date=June 2016 |title=Collective Representation as a Mobilizer: Race/Ethnicity, Gender, and Their Intersections at the State Level |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S1532440000003868/type/journal_article |journal=State Politics & Policy Quarterly |language=en |volume=16 |issue=2 |pages=227–263 |doi=10.1177/1532440015603576 |issn=1532-4400}}</ref>

Similarly, the intersection of class and racial discrimination manifests in economic disparities that disproportionately impact racial and ethnic minorities.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Karlsen |first1=Saffron |last2=Nazroo |first2=James Y. |date=April 2002 |title=Relation Between Racial Discrimination, Social Class, and Health Among Ethnic Minority Groups |journal=American Journal of Public Health |language=en |volume=92 |issue=4 |pages=624–631 |doi=10.2105/AJPH.92.4.624 |pmid=11919063 |issn=0090-0036|pmc=1447128 }}</ref> Studies show that historical and structural barriers, including discriminatory labor policies and unequal access to education, contribute to income inequality among marginalized groups.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Roscigno |first1=Vincent J. |last2=Williams |first2=Lisa M. |last3=Byron |first3=Reginald A. |date=May 2012 |title=Workplace Racial Discrimination and Middle Class Vulnerability |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0002764211433805 |journal=American Behavioral Scientist |language=en |volume=56 |issue=5 |pages=696–710 |doi=10.1177/0002764211433805 |issn=0002-7642}}</ref> Racial minorities are more likely to experience employment precarity and wage suppression, leading to reduced economic mobility compared to their white counterparts.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-02-08 |title=Racial Inequality in the United States |url=https://home.treasury.gov/news/featured-stories/racial-inequality-in-the-united-states?utm_source=chatgpt.com |access-date=2025-03-15 |website=U.S. Department of the Treasury |language=en}}</ref>

Furthermore, racism persists within poor communities, including those with predominantly Black populations.<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal |last=Gomez |first=Cristina |date=2018-11-05 |title=Racism and Gender Intersections Among Poor Urban Families The Role Of Inclusive Policies |url=https://journals.scholarpublishing.org/index.php/ASSRJ/article/view/5483 |journal=Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal|volume=5 |issue=10 }}</ref> This is often characterized as symbolic racism, where negative stereotypes associate Black individuals with social threats or anti-normative behavior (e.g., involvement in drugs or robbery), which is used to justify social exclusion.<ref name=":3" /> This form of racism can exist even among people of similar low socioeconomic status, suggesting it may stem from symbolic competition and social categorization rather than solely from direct competition for economic resources.<ref name=":3" /> Poverty itself functions as a discriminatory label, often intertwined with perceptions of social class and skin color. Individuals identified as beneficiaries of social policies (a marker of low-income status) report experiencing discrimination from non-beneficiaries.<ref name=":3" /> Individuals experiencing poverty may face various forms of discrimination but might not always identify racism as the specific cause, especially when dealing with multiple overlapping disadvantages. Both explicit and subtle forms of racism are reported.<ref name=":3" />

== Institutional versus personal classism ==
The term classism can refer to personal prejudice (an individual's inclination to judge or treat others negatively based on their own rigid beliefs or emotions rather than objective evidence or critical reflection<ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-06-23 |title=Psychology Helps Explain Why People Are Prejudiced - Center for Public Interest Communications |url=https://realgoodcenter.jou.ufl.edu/researchinsights/why-people-are-prejudiced/ |access-date=2024-11-03 |language=en-US}}</ref>) against lower classes as well as to institutional classism (the ways in which intentional and unintentional classism is manifest in the various institutions of our society<ref>{{Citation |title=Congressional Hunger Center |date=2006 |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of World Poverty |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781412939607.n139 |access-date=2024-11-03 |place=2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks California 91320 United States |publisher=Sage Publications, Inc. |doi=10.4135/9781412939607.n139 |isbn=978-1-4129-1807-7}}</ref>). Similarly, the term [[racism]] can refer either strictly to personal prejudice or to [[institutional racism]]. The latter has been defined as "the ways in which conscious or unconscious classism is manifest in the various institutions of our society".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://gustavus.edu/reslife/documents/Classism.doc|title=Classism Definitions|website=gustavus.edu|access-date=18 March 2018|archive-date=13 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160313231751/https://gustavus.edu/reslife/documents/Classism.doc|url-status=dead}}</ref>

As with social classes, the difference in social status between people determines how they behave toward each other and the prejudices they likely hold toward each other. People of higher status do not generally mix with lower-status people and often are able to control other people's activities by influencing laws and social standards.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/social-sciences/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/social-class-prejudice|title=Social Class Prejudice|website=Encyclopedia.com|access-date=2019-01-08}}</ref>

The term "interpersonal" is sometimes used in place of "personal" as in "institutional classism (versus) interpersonal classism"<ref>{{citation|last1=Langhout|first1=Regina Day|title=Assessing Classism in Academic Settings|date=Winter 2007|url=https://muse.jhu.edu/login?auth=0&type=summary&url=/journals/review_of_higher_education/v030/30.2langhout.html|last2=Rosselli|last3=Feinstein|first2=Francine|first3=Jonathan|journal=The Review of Higher Education|volume=30|issue=2|pages=145–184|doi=10.1353/rhe.2006.0073|s2cid=144691197}}</ref> and terms such as "attitude" or "attitudinal" may replace "interpersonal" as contrasting with institutional classism as in the Association of Magazine Media's definition of classism as "any attitude or institutional practice which subordinates people due to income, occupation, education and/or their economic condition".<ref>[http://www.magazine.org/diversity/managing/defining/8478.aspx "Glossary"].{{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120309015508/http://www.magazine.org/diversity/managing/defining/8478.aspx|date=9 March 2012}}</ref>

Classism is also sometimes broken down into more than two categories as in "personal, institutional and cultural" classism.<ref>{{cite book|editor1-last=Adams|editor1-first=Maurianne|editor2-last=Bell|editor2-first=Lee Anne|editor3-last=Griffin|editor3-first=Pat|title=Teaching for Diversity and Social Justice|edition=2nd|publisher=Routledge|year=2007|page=317|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OI-5SlHR9PMC|isbn=978-0-415-95199-9}}</ref> It is common knowledge in sociolinguistics that meta-social language abounds in lower registers, thus the slang for various classes or racial castes.

==Structural positions==
Schüssler Fiorenza describes interdependent "stratifications of gender, race, class, religion, [[heterosexism|heterosexualism]], and age" as ''structural positions''<ref name="fiorenza_2009"/> assigned at birth. She suggests that people inhabit several positions, and that positions with privilege become nodal points through which other positions are experienced. For example, in a context where gender is the primary privileged position (e.g. [[patriarchy]], [[matriarchy]]), gender becomes the nodal point through which sexuality, race, and class are experienced. In a context where class is the primary privileged position (i.e. [[classism]]), gender and race are experienced through class dynamics. Fiorenza stresses that [[kyriarchy]] is not a hierarchical system as it does not focus on one point of domination. Instead, it is described as a "complex pyramidal system" with those on the bottom of the pyramid experiencing the "full power of kyriarchal oppression". The kyriarchy is recognized as the [[status quo]], and therefore, its oppressive structures may not be recognized.<ref name="fiorenza_2009">{{cite book |title = Prejudice and Christian beginnings: investigating race, gender, and ethnicity in early Christian studies |chapter = Introduction: Exploring the Intersections of Race, Gender, Status and Ethnicity in Early Christian Studies |last = Schüssler Fiorenza |first = Elisabeth |author-link = Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza |editor1-last  = Nasrallah |editor1-first = Laura |editor2-last = Schüssler Fiorenza |editor2-first = Elisabeth |publisher = Fortress Press |location = Minneapolis |year = 2009 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=u7XoAi3VfOEC |isbn=978-1451412840}}</ref><ref name="reed-bouley" />

Building on this, Deborah King's concept of ''multiple jeopardy''<ref>{{Cite journal |last=King |first=Deborah K. |date=1988 |title=Multiple Jeopardy, Multiple Consciousness: The Context of a Black Feminist Ideology |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/3174661 |journal=Signs |volume=14 |issue=1 |pages=42–72 |doi=10.1086/494491 |jstor=3174661 |issn=0097-9740}}</ref> provides further insight into how these oppressions interact in multiplicative rather than merely additive ways. King argues that intersecting systems of race, gender, and class discrimination do not simply add up to a triple burden but rather compound and intensify each other, creating unique conditions of subjugation. Thus, in the kyriarchal system, positions of oppression do not act independently but rather reinforce one another in specific, context-dependent ways. For instance, while Black women historically endured both racial and gendered violence, they also suffered from exploitation tied to class dynamics, with their labor and reproduction contributing directly to economic structures of enslavement. The importance of any one axis (e.g., race, class, or gender) in determining conditions for marginalized individuals varies according to context, further highlighting the nuanced and contextually bound nature of oppression.

To maintain this system, kyriarchy relies on the creation of a servant class, race, gender, or people. The position of this class is reinforced through "education, socialization, and brute violence and [[malestream]] rationalization".<ref name="fiorenza_2009" /> Tēraudkalns suggests that these structures of oppression are self-sustained by [[internalized oppression]]; those with relative power tend to remain in power, while those without tend to remain disenfranchised.<ref name="teraudkalns">{{cite book |title = Religion and political change in Europe: past and present |chapter = Construction of Masculinities in Contemporary Christianity |pages = 223–232 |last = Tēraudkalns |first = Valdis |editor-last = Cimdiņa |editor-first = Ausma |publisher = PLUS |year = 2003 |isbn=8884921414}}</ref> In addition, structures of oppression amplify and feed into each other,<ref name="reed-bouley">{{Cite journal|title = Antiracist Theological Education as a Site of Struggle for Justice|last = Reed-Bouley|first = Jennifer|date = Spring 2012|journal = Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion|doi = 10.2979/jfemistudreli.28.1.178|volume=28|pages=178–189|s2cid = 143768692}}</ref> intensifying and altering the forms of discrimination experienced by those in different social positions.

In the [[United Arab Emirates|UAE]], [[Western world|Western]] workers and local nationals are given better treatment or are preferred,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thenational.ae/uae/western-workers-favoured-in-uae-survey-respondents-say-1.21895|title='Western workers favoured in UAE', survey respondents say|website=The National|date=18 April 2015 |language=en|access-date=2019-11-05}}</ref> illustrating how institutional biases based on class and nationality create compounded disadvantages for other groups. This layered and compounding nature of oppression supports King's argument that intersecting systems of discrimination operate together, reinforcing complex patterns of privilege and subjugation.

== Media representation ==
Class discrimination can be seen in many different forms of media such as television shows, films and social media.

Classism is also systemic,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Gamble |first1=Matt |title=Classism: America's Overlooked Problem |url=https://www.therutgersreview.com/2018/02/10/classism-americas-overlooked-problem/ |website=The Rutgers Review |date=10 February 2018 |access-date=21 March 2019}}</ref> and its implications can go unnoticed in the media that is consumed by society. Class discrimination in the media displays the knowledge of what people feel and think about classism. When seeing class discrimination in films and television shows, people are influenced and believe that is how things are in real life, for whatever class is being displayed. Children can be exposed to class discrimination through movies, with a large pool of high-grossing G-rated movies portraying classism in various contexts.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Streib |first1=Jessi |title=Class Inequality in Children's Movies |url=https://classism.org/class-inequality-in-childrens-movies/ |website=Class Action |date=18 April 2016 |access-date=21 March 2019 |archive-date=21 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190321213408/https://classism.org/class-inequality-in-childrens-movies/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> Children may develop biases at a young age that shape their beliefs throughout their lifetime, which would demonstrate the issues with class discrimination being prevalent in the media.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Suttie |first1=Jill |title=How Adults Communicate Bias to Children |url=https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/how_adults_communicate_bias_to_children |access-date=21 March 2019}}</ref>

Media has a big influence on the world today, with that something such as classism is can be seen in many different lights. Media plays an important role in how certain groups of people are perceived, which can make certain biases stronger.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Burke |first1=Krista |title=Media Portrayal of Individuals in the Lower Class |url=https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1162&context=comssp |website=Digital Commons |access-date=21 March 2019}}</ref> Usually, the lower income people are displayed in the media as dirty, lacking education and manners, and homeless.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://web.stanford.edu/class/e297c/poverty_prejudice/mediarace/portrayal.htm|title=Portrayal of Minorities in the Film, Media and Entertainment Industries|website=web.stanford.edu|access-date=18 March 2018|archive-date=13 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191213084511/https://web.stanford.edu/class/e297c/poverty_prejudice/mediarace/portrayal.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> People can use the media to learn more about different social classes<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.criticalmediaproject.org/cml/topicbackground/race-ethnicity/|title=Race & Ethnicity|website=criticalmediaproject.org|access-date=18 March 2018}}</ref> or to influence others on what they believe, through social media.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://blogs.harvard.edu/andresmh/2013/04/classism-accountability-and-social-media/|title=Classism, Accountability, and Social Media|website=blogs.harvard.edu|access-date=18 March 2018}}</ref> In some cases, people who are in a social class that is portrayed negatively by the media are affected in school and social life since "teenagers who grew up in poverty reported higher levels of discrimination, and the poorer the teens were, the more they experienced discrimination".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.med.wisc.edu/news-events/social-class-discrimination-contributes-to-poorer-health/38020|title=Social-class discrimination contributes to poorer health|website=wisc.edu|access-date=18 March 2018}}</ref>

However, within media analysis, class as a specific variable is often less emphasized than race or gender.<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal |last=Moller |first=S. |date=2008-03-01 |title=Framing Class: Media Representations of Wealth and Poverty in America By Diana Kendall Rowman & Littlefield, 2005. 288 pages. $75 (cloth), $24.95 (paper) |url=https://doi.org/10.1353/sof.0.0016 |journal=Social Forces |volume=86 |issue=3 |pages=1347–1349 |doi=10.1353/sof.0.0016 |issn=0037-7732}}</ref> Media itself frequently lacks clear definitions for class categories, sometimes conflating the working class with the broader middle class.<ref name=":4" /> Complex issues pertinent to the working class tend to be underreported unless linked to specific news beats like crime or major crises.<ref name=":4" /> The poor often experience "benign neglect" in media, frequently being represented as impersonal statistics rather than individuals.<ref name=":4" /> When depicted individually, portrayals can be negative, emphasizing stereotypes related to deviance (alcoholism, drug abuse, crime, mental illness) or dependency, often without addressing underlying structural issues. More sympathetic framing tends to be reserved for specific demographics (children, elderly, physically ill) or situations (holidays, disasters).<ref name=":4" /> Research cited indicates a tendency to overrepresent African Americans in negative poverty narratives.<ref name=":4" />

When not ignored, the working class is often subjected to stereotypical and caricatured representations.<ref name=":4" /> Common tropes include the working-class man as a buffoon (incompetent, immature, needing guidance from a more sensible wife) or a bigot, prevalent in many television sitcoms (e.g., The Honeymooners, All in the Family, The Simpsons).<ref name=":4" /> Derogatory labels associated with lower-class status, such as "white trash," are sometimes used or amplified by media coverage.<ref name=":4" /> Working-class women might be depicted as lacking refinement or violating middle-class standards of femininity.<ref name=":4" />

== Legislation ==
There are legislative measures that aim to prevent discrimination and ensure equal opportunities for all individuals, regardless of class background.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=The Fair Labor Standards Act Of 1938, As Amended |url=https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/legacy/files/FairLaborStandAct.pdf |website=www.dol.gov}}</ref> Several laws protect individuals from discrimination based on race, gender, religion, and national origin, indirectly addressing class disparities.<ref name=":0" />

Policies such as the [[Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938]] (FLSA), is a U.S. federal law that establishes labor standards for employees, primarily focusing on minimum wage, overtime pay, child labor, and recordkeeping.<ref name=":0" /> The FLSA was originally designed as a tool to reduce class inequality.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Andrias |first=Kate |title=An American Approach to Social Democracy: The Forgotten Promise of the Fair Labor Standards Act |url=https://www.yalelawjournal.org/article/an-american-approach-to-social-democracy |access-date=2025-03-01 |website=www.yalelawjournal.org}}</ref> Employers are set to pay a minimum wage, which has changed over time. With an increase from $5.85 to $7.25 per hours in stages, taking place from 2007 to 2009. However, employees working more than 40 hours per week must receive overtime pay at 1.5 times their regular pay rate.<ref name=":0" />

The [[Equal Pay Act of 1963]] (EPA) aimed to eliminate gender-based disparities by mandating equal pay for equal work.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Swift |first=Jayne |date=2023-06-20 |title=Equal Pay and Substantive Economic Citizenship |url=https://genderpolicyreport.umn.edu/equal-pay-and-substantive-economic-citizenship/?utm_source=chatgpt.com |access-date=2025-03-01 |website=Gender Policy Report |language=en-US}}</ref> However, the EPA did not include provisions for a living wage or broader labor protections, leaving many workers earning wages insufficient to meet basic living standards.<ref name=":1" />

The [[European Convention on Human Rights]], also includes protections against discrimination, including on the basis of social class.<ref name=":2" /> Specifically, Article 14 of the Convention prohibits discrimination on a variety of grounds, including "social origin," which is interpreted to encompass class background.<ref name=":2">[https://www.echr.coe.int/documents/convention_eng.pdf European Convention on Human Rights as amended by Protocols Nos. 11, 14 and 15, supplemented by Protocols Nos. 1, 4, 6, 7, 12, 13 and 16]</ref>

The [[Earned income tax credit|Earned Income Tax Credit]] is described as a program for families of the working poor earning below a specified income threshold.<ref name=":5">{{Cite journal |last=De Hon |first=Jacqueline |date=2002 |title=Identifying Links-of-Discrimination Related to Race, Gender, and Class |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/41675036 |journal=Race, Gender & Class |volume=9 |issue=3 |pages=139–158 |jstor=41675036 |issn=1082-8354}}</ref> An article, citing a 2000 IRS source related to earned income, reports that in 1997, this program lost $7.8 billion due to factors identified as "fraud and errors".<ref name=":5" /> It further states that these funds, which could have benefited the working poor, were consequently unavailable to them due to mismanagement and theft.<ref name=":5" />

== See also ==
{{columns-list|colwidth=22em|
* [[Apartheid]]
* [[Baby Scoop Era]]
* [[Caste system]]
* [[Class conflict]]
* [[Class consciousness]]
* [[Debtors' prison]]
* [[Economic inequality]]
* [[Economic stratification]]
* [[Elitism]]
* [[Forced adoption]]
* ''[[Keeping Up Appearances]]''
* [[Legacy preferences]]
* [[Marxism]]
* [[Populism]]
* [[Racial discrimination]]
* [[Rankism]]
* [[Social inequality]]

}}

== References ==
<references>
<ref name=APS>
  {{cite news
  | title = Social-Class Discrimination Contributes to Poorer Health
  | newspaper = Association of Psychological Science
  | date = 18 June 2012
  | url = https://www.psychologicalscience.org/news/releases/social-class-discrimination-contributes-to-poorer-health.html
  | access-date = 10 December 2019
  }}</ref>
</references>

== Further reading ==
* Bowker, Geoffrey C., and Susan Leigh Star. ''Sorting Things Out: Classification and Its Consequences''. MIT Press, 1999.
* {{cite web |last=Capuano |first=Angelo |url=http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/UNSWLawJl/2016/3.pdf |title=Giving Meaning to 'Social Origin' in International Labour Organization ('ILO') Conventions, the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) and the Australian Human Rights Commission Act 1986 (Cth): 'Class' Discrimination and Its Relevance to the Australian Context}} (2016) 39(1) [[University of New South Wales Law Journal]] 84. {{SSRN|2771056}}
* ''A People's History of the United States'' by [[Howard Zinn]].
* Hill, Marcia, and Esther Rothblum. Classism and Feminist Therapy: Counting Costs. New York: Haworth Press, 1996.
* [[bell hooks|hooks, bell]]. Where we stand: class matters. New York & London: Routledge, 2000.
* Gans, Herbert. The War Against the Poor, 1996.
* Homan, Jacqueline S. Classism For Dimwits. Pennsylvania: Elf Books, 2007/2009.
* Packard, Vance. Status Seekers, 1959.
* Beegle, Donna M. See Poverty - Be the Difference, 2009.
* [[Betsy Leondar-Wright|Leondar-Wright, Betsy]].  Class Matters: Cross-Class Alliance Building for Middle-Class Activists: New Society Publishers, 2005.

==External links==
{{Wiktionary|Class discrimination}}
{{wikiquote}}
{{Commons category}}
*[https://www.pbs.org/peoplelikeus/about/index.html "People Like Us"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140221083215/http://www.pbs.org/peoplelikeus/about/index.html |date=21 February 2014 }} at [[PBS]]
*[http://www.classism.org Class Action]

{{Discrimination}}
{{Social class}}

[[Category:Class discrimination| ]]
[[Category:Discrimination by type|Class]]
[[Category:Political terminology]]
[[Category:Social classes]]