13 Ways Inequality Affects Society

In every society, certain groups have more wealth, education, job opportunities, access to healthcare and other advantages. This creates inequality on a local, national and global scale. Inequality is like a spider’s web touching every part of society – from gender equality to housing to conflict – and when one strand is plucked, the effects reverberate through institutions, communities and the lives of individuals. In this article, we’ll explore 13 of the most significant ways inequality affects society:

#1. Gender

Inequality has a significant effect on how people of different genders get treated. According to UNICEF, discrimination can start as soon as girls go through puberty. Adolescent girls do more unpaid labor, experience more sexual and gender-based violence and receive fewer educational opportunities. As discrimination and human rights abuses increase around the world, women and girls suffer the most. According to the UN, legal equality for women could take 300 years to achieve if progress doesn’t speed up. While inequality affects women and girls to a significant degree, trans and gender-diverse people face challenges, too. Research shows that trans and gender-diverse people experience stigma, discrimination and violence in a variety of settings, including housing and employment.

Gender inequality manifests in many ways. Here are 15 examples of everyday inequality.

#2. Race

Race is a social and political construct, but unscientific and hateful views about its definition have led to rampant inequality. According to stats from the United Nations, racial discrimination is one of the most common forms of discrimination worldwide. Both men and women experience racial discrimination, along with related discrimination based on color, language and ethnicity. Racial inequality affects every sphere of society, such as employment, education and public health. Inequality can also fuel racism. For example, systemic inequalities that impoverish certain groups can encourage untrue beliefs about their intelligence, abilities and willingness to work. This stigma then reinforces inequalities, creating a vicious cycle.

#3. Poverty

Inequalities of all kinds affect poverty. Income and wealth inequality are the two big causes. According to a 2023 Oxfam report, the wealth of the world’s richest billionaires increased by a massive $2.7 billion every day while at least 1.7 billion workers lived in countries where inflation grew faster than wages. Over two years, the richest 1% hoarded almost twice as much wealth as the rest of the world combined. This kind of inequality fuels poverty. In 2022, 712 million people were living in extreme poverty, which is 23 million more than in 2019. Inflation inequality matters, too. When prices rise faster for those on the bottom of the income ladder, it increases the number of people living in poverty.

#4. Education

Inequality and education have a reinforcing relationship. According to the Economic Policy Institute, research names social class a significant predictor of a child’s educational success in the United States. In the report’s words, “children who start behind stay behind.” It’s not that these kids are less intelligent. Their schools get less funding. The Urban Institute found that in nearly half of US states, students from low-income families got less state and local funding than their higher-income peers. Globally, gender inequality impacts education. 122 million girls are out of school compared to 128 boys. Of the 763 million adults who don’t have literacy skills, almost ⅔ are women.

#5. Employment

Inequalities based on gender, race, wealth and more affect employment. Let’s take a closer look at gender. The International Labour Organization calculated that while 72% of men participate in the labor force, just under 47% of women do. This isn’t because women don’t want to work. Many do work, but they work in the informal economy, which isn’t regulated by the government. In South Asia, 80% of women who don’t work in agriculture work in the informal economy, while 74% work there in sub-Saharan Africa and 54% in Latin America and the Caribbean. These jobs often pay much less than formal employment and lack legal protections. Women also face higher risks of sexual harassment and exploitation in informal and formal employment. While gender inequality is just one factor in employment, it has a global effect.

#6. Health equity

“Health equity” is the absence of unjust and avoidable health differences between groups. Discrimination based on gender, race, class and other characteristics threatens health equity, and while some discrimination is unintentional, it still impacts millions of people every day. For example, a 2021 systematic review found that trans and non-binary people experience “erasure” when they seek healthcare. The CDC also states that due to factors like lower-quality healthcare, Black women in the US are three times more likely than white women to die from a pregnancy-related cause.

Inequality breaks down into numbers and statistics, but it can be seen with the naked eye, too. In my town, there’s a cluster of lower-income apartments. Renters struggle to get the owner to fix dishwashers and clean up mold. Just a few blocks away, there are pristine, brand-new houses selling for millions of dollars. If you open your eyes, inequality is never far from sight.   

#7. Disease burden

Inequality doesn’t only affect access to healthcare; it also affects who is more likely to get sick. Consider income inequality. According to one study, low-income and middle-income countries have around double the burden of infectious diseases and non-communicable diseases. Gender plays a role, too. That same study found an association between gender inequality and that double disease burden. Another study found that low-income and middle-income countries have around triple the rates of people living with hypertension compared to high-income countries. Several factors contribute to who gets sick and who doesn’t, but various inequalities drive a lot of those differences.

#8. Mental health

According to the World Health Organization, around 970 million people lived with a mental health condition in 2019. Mental health is complex, but research shows that inequality plays a part. One review of studies suggested a link between income inequality and mental health issues, especially depression, while another study found links between racial discrimination and depression, anxiety, PTSD and other mental health conditions. Considering how poverty, a lack of education and discrimination affect a person’s opportunities and daily life, it’s no surprise inequality would also impact their short and long-term mental health.

#9. Housing

Housing is a human right, but the world is facing a crisis. Around 1.6 billion people can’t access decent housing and basic services, and if things don’t change, 3 billion people could be in crisis by 2030. Housing prices are rising faster compared to income. In the United States, the median home cost rose 30% while incomes rose just 11% in the last 10 years. Unequal income increases make the situation even worse. According to Inequality.org, the average income of America’s richest 1% grew 17 times faster between 1979 and 2020 compared to the income of the bottom 20%. This makes it much easier for wealthy families to buy houses, which drives up prices and reinforces inequality.

#10. Economic growth

What happens to the economy when there’s inequality? According to the International Monetary Fund, inequality between the highest and lowest income classes can ‘directly hurt short- and long-term growth.” An Economic Policy Institute report found that the rise in American income inequality between 1979 and 2019 reduced growth in aggregate demand. This measures the total amount of demand for finished goods and services. As the report describes, inequality shifts income from lower-income households (who spend more money to pay for living expenses) to higher-income families (who save more money). When people don’t spend as much, it hurts economic growth.

To learn more about fighting inequality and discrimination, here’s our list of 10 online courses. 

#11. Climate change effects

Inequality determines who gets hit hardest by climate change. According to the World Economic Forum, while the lowest-income countries generate just 1/10 of all greenhouse gas emissions, they endure the worst climate change effects. Other inequalities play a role, too. According to one paper, things like gender and racial inequality put certain groups in the path of climate change, which in turn worsens existing inequality. It’s a “vicious cycle,” as the paper’s authors put it. As an example, women fill 43% of the jobs in agriculture, which is impacted by climate change effects like flooding, drought, hot temperatures and more. Women, who already endure more gender discrimination than men, suffer worse inequality thanks to climate change.

#12. Immigration

According to the International Organization for Migration, global inequalities reflect migration. Wage and job inequality are the most obvious reasons. When people can’t find decent work that pays well, they’re more likely to migrate somewhere within their home country or beyond it. Discrimination and a lack of access to justice can also increase migration. Unfortunately, many migrants face inequality no matter where they go. In the United States, which has more immigrants than any other country, people move into a system infected with gender, racial and income inequality. Inequality and immigration reinforce each other.

#13. Conflict

The drivers of conflict are varied and complex, but while there’s rarely one cause, inequality plays a big role. According to the International Monetary Fund, inequality can damage trust and social cohesion, which are key to preventing conflict. Consider wealth inequality. When there are wide gaps between classes in society, the wealthy enjoy unfair advantages like more political influence, land, natural resources and basic services. That creates a recipe for polarization and discontent. When crises develop, it’s much harder for an unequal society to come together to solve anything.