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Mobility and Inequality in the Professoriate: How and Why First-Generation and Working-Class Backgrounds Matter

Author

Listed:
  • Roscigno, Vincent J.
  • Lee, Elizabeth M.
  • Hurst, Allison L.
  • Brady, David
  • King, Colby R.
  • Jack, Anthony Abraham
  • Delaney, Kevin J.
  • McDermott, Monica
  • Muñoz, José
  • Johnson, Wendi
  • Francis, Robert D.
  • Warnock, Debbie
  • Weigers Vitullo, Margaret

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.

Suggested Citation

  • Roscigno, Vincent J. & Lee, Elizabeth M. & Hurst, Allison L. & Brady, David & King, Colby R. & Jack, Anthony Abraham & Delaney, Kevin J. & McDermott, Monica & Muñoz, José & Johnson, Wendi & Francis, R, 2023. "Mobility and Inequality in the Professoriate: How and Why First-Generation and Working-Class Backgrounds Matter," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 9, pages 1-30.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:espost:331906
    DOI: 10.1177/23780231231181859
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Pablo A. Mitnik & Erin Cumberworth, 2021. "Measuring Social Class with Changing Occupational Classifications: Reliability, Competing Measurement Strategies, and the 1970–1980 U.S. Classification Divide," Sociological Methods & Research, , vol. 50(1), pages 265-309, February.
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