ABSTRACT
We devote this chapter to discussing inequalities in work, showing that social divisions are vital to any understanding of how work is structured and experienced. The chapter will examine how sociologists view social inequalities more broadly as well as discussing more specifically how inequalities in work have been approached. We will see that a range of examples of social divisions, such as class, gender and ‘race’, have been theorised and studied by sociologists
in various ways over the years, in isolation and in combination with other divisions. The chapter will show that such divisions made it onto the agenda of work sociology at different times, for different reasons, and that they have received varying degrees of coverage. The main purpose of the chapter, however, is to underline just how fundamental inequality has been to theories about work and to studies of work. We conclude by stressing that the sociological aim is to explore the complex interpenetration of different forms of inequality. We hope to show readers just how vital an understanding of these interconnecting social divisions is when examining work and workers’ lives.
