Mobility and inequality in the professoriate: how and why first-generation and working-class backgrounds matter
Date
2023-01
Authors
Roscigno, Vincent J.
Lee, Elizabeth M.
Hurst, Allison L.
Brady, David
King, Colby R.
Abraham Jack, Anthony
Delaney, Kevin J.
McDermott, Monica
Muñoz, José
Johnson, Wendi
Version
Published version
OA Version
Citation
V.J. Roscigno, E.M. Lee, A.L. Hurst, D. Brady, C.R. King, A. Abraham Jack, K.J. Delaney, M. McDermott, J. Muñoz, W. Johnson, R.D. Francis, D. Warnock, M. Weigers Vitullo. 2023. "Mobility and Inequality in the Professoriate: How and Why First-Generation and Working-Class Backgrounds Matter" Socius, Volume 9. https://doi.org/10.1177/23780231231181859
Abstract
Social science research has long recognized the relevance of socioeconomic background for mobility and inequality. In this article we interrogate how and why working-class and first-generation backgrounds are especially meaningful and take as our case in point the professoriate and the discipline of sociology, – i.e., a field that intellectually prioritizes attention to group inequality and that arguably offers a conservative empirical test compared to other academic fields. Our analyses, which draw on unique survey items and open-ended qualitative materials from nearly 1,000 academic sociologists, reveal significant background divergences in academic job attainment, tied partly to educational background. Moreover, and especially unique and important, findings demonstrate significant consequences across several dimensions of inequality including compensation and economic precarity, professional visibility, and isolation at departmental, college or university, and professional levels. We conclude by highlighting how our discussion and results contribute in important ways to broader sociological concerns surrounding mobility, group disadvantage, and social closure.
Description
License
This article is distributed under the terms of the Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International.