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Socioeconomic status

When and how to refer to socioeconomic status groups

Background:

Socioeconomic status is a complex concept that involves education, income, overall financial security, occupation, living conditions, resources, and opportunities afforded to people within society. Socioeconomic status and one鈥檚 are factors of . Generalizing and pejorative language about socioeconomic status and class contributes to stereotypes. Furthermore, mentioning socioeconomic status when it is not relevant could introduce bias.

While there are no universal definitions of 鈥渉igh鈥� and 鈥渓ow,鈥� the terms 鈥渉igh income鈥� and 鈥渓ow income鈥� are often used to describe where on a range an individual falls. But these terms may mask important distinctions when it comes to other aspects of poverty or wealth, and they may be misleading, as 鈥渨ealthy people may qualify as low-income, or [the term 鈥榣ow income鈥橾 may not capture the effects of wealth on class,鈥� the from the N.Y.U. Review of Law & Social Change explains. The American Psychological Association (APA) uses the term 鈥渓ow-income and economic marginalization鈥� in to establish common terminology that includes both limited financial resources and marginalization related to social class.

Some organizations, such as the APA, in part because of negative connotations associated with the word 鈥減oor.鈥� Others argue that alternatives to 鈥減oor鈥� are rather than the discomfort of people the words are meant to describe.

Recommendation:

Mention socioeconomic status only when relevant. Define specific income data and education levels when appropriate. Consider including contextual details about net worth or measuring income relative to a , a benchmark that may serve as a recognizable and quantifiable standard, though it has been critiqued as a and . If you use "poverty line," note which kind, because countries define country-level poverty thresholds, while the World Bank defines a . Avoid labeling socioeconomic status groups by a characteristic, such as 鈥渢he unemployed,鈥� which can be derogatory, be dehumanizing, or imply that these groups are defined by the problems they experience. See also 鈥淎void labeling people by a characteristic" and 鈥淩ecognize overlapping identities.鈥�

Examples:

Use:

鈥淎ggregated ratios indicated that participants from the lowest SES [socioeconomic status] community experienced higher home exposures compared to participants of all other communities over consecutive 24-hr monitoring periods, despite high participant mobility and relatively low variability in ambient PM2.5 during the study'' (J. Aerosol Sci. 2021, ).

Avoid:

that the poor

Use:

鈥淗辞耻蝉别丑辞濒诲蝉 making $50,000 or less a year were far more likely to experience a pay cut than those making $100,000 or more a year鈥� (, Feb. 22, 2022).

Avoid:

Low-income households . . . high-income households (While using 鈥渓ow income鈥� and 鈥渉igh income鈥� as descriptors may be appropriate once they are defined, describing the categories is clearer on first use, as people may define these categories differently.)

Use:

"Nonetheless, schools and instructors should have a plan to make computer hardware available to students who may not be able to afford their own devices or whose devices are outdated or not functioning鈥� (ACS Symposium Series 2019, vol. 1318, ).

Avoid:

poor students (While using 鈥減oor鈥� as an adjective may be appropriate in some situations, describing the situation is generally clearer than using a label.)

Use:

"We define the middle class as those in the middle 60% of the household income distribution鈥攏ot poor, but not prosperous either. The average middle-class household has about $70,000 in income after taxes and transfers. To be middle class, a household of three would have an income between $40,000 and $154,000" (, Sept. 2020).

Avoid deficit-based language for socioeconomic status

Background:

Deficit-based language focuses on what people lack. Describing people only with negative words like 鈥渟truggling,鈥� 鈥渦nderprivileged,鈥� 鈥渁t risk,鈥� and 鈥渧ulnerable鈥� stigmatizes individuals and fails to recognize the larger systems that create problems. In contrast, , a narrative strategy developed by social entrepreneur Trabian Shorters, leads with people鈥檚 aspirations and contributions before mentioning problems; it also recognizes and names causal systems. Importantly, asset framing : 鈥淎sset-framing doesn鈥檛 ignore challenges. It鈥檚 not about avoidance or substitution. It鈥檚 more accurate to introduce a young person by their aspirations and contributions before mentioning their challenges than it is to sum them up as an 鈥榓t-risk youth,鈥� 鈥� .

Recommendation:

Avoid dehumanizing language that leads with deficits. Use explicit language that and describes the barriers that impede those seeking opportunity. When comparing socioeconomic status groups, use parallel phrasing or asset framing. When deficits need to be named, use neutral language instead of pejorative or stigmatizing words.

In addition, aim to accurately portray people of various socioeconomic status groups; , or portrays lower socioeconomic status groups as heroes. , as with 鈥減overty-stricken鈥� or 鈥減overty-ridden.鈥� See also 鈥淣eutral Language for Disabilities, Disorders, and Diseases鈥� and 鈥淎cknowledge Systemic Factors that Affect Socioeconomic Status,鈥� "Recognize Frames & Narratives That Uphold Inequities," "Avoid Problematic Frames & Narratives," and "Provide Context."

Examples:

Use:

people with a high school diploma vs. people without a high school diploma or equivalent, or people with a [9, 10, or 11]th-grade education

Avoid:

high school graduates vs. high school dropouts

Use:

Consider donating to help students from lower socioeconomic groups participate in science research.

Avoid:

to ensure these impoverished students receive the help they desperately need.

Acknowledge systemic factors that affect socioeconomic status

Background:

An individual鈥檚 successes and outcomes are affected by a variety of life experiences with systemic causes. Language that blames individuals for having a lower socioeconomic status ignores these . For example, using the phrase to explain health disparities between socioeconomic groups masks the fact that inequities in society may severely limit the choices available to lower socioeconomic groups. For example, not eating as many fruits and vegetables may not be a conscious choice but rather the result of a lack of shops with fresh produce in a neighborhood. Similarly, the term portrays access to food as a naturally occurring situation, whereas other terms, like aim to that cause unequal food access in US society.

Recommendation:

Avoid characterizing an individual鈥檚 socioeconomic status or economic mobility as the result of individual behaviors. Provide context, and use language that accurately reflects the challenges and opportunities faced by different socioeconomic status groups. Avoid assigning morality to socioeconomic status. See also 鈥淎void deficit-based language for socioeconomic status.鈥�

Examples:

Use:

鈥淭his has led to the development of introductory programs and support courses for students who experience opportunity gaps, which can improve students鈥� outcomes鈥� (J. Chem. Educ. 2022, ).

Avoid:

achievement gaps (鈥淎chievement gaps鈥� can imply that a difference in academic outcomes is a result of personal characteristics, whereas .)

Use:

鈥淭here are good reasons some Americans find it difficult to work. For one, many families still don鈥檛 have child care. Only about half of schools have fully resumed in-person classes, and many child care providers haven鈥檛 reopened or returned to normal capacity鈥� (, June 10, 2021).

Use:

鈥� 鈥楳y grandparents were bludgeoned every time the economy took a downturn,' Dee recalls, in part because of the legacy of redlining and the devaluation of property in Black neighborhoods鈥� (, Jan. 26, 2021).

Show variety within socioeconomic status groups

Background:

People within a particular socioeconomic status group may have markedly different experiences, behaviors, and aspirations depending on their geographic location, race, immigration status, age, gender, family structure, and many other factors. Implying that everyone in a group shares values or behaviors can seem inauthentic and alienate people.

Conceptualizations of the middle and working class are , despite evidence that demonstrates that the . Language that emphasizes the racial diversity within classes, such as explicitly naming different racial groups, can help people create a more accurate view of these classes. Rashad Robinson and Nicole Sussner Rodgers explain in a , 鈥淩ather than eliminating the use of this term [鈥渨orking class鈥漖, it is important to continue to expand its meaning, and the range of people whose image it evokes. One way to do that is to explicitly insert Black people into the narrative it carries, for instance, by talking about Black, white and other working class communities.鈥�

Recommendation:

Avoid language that treats socioeconomic status groups as homogeneous or that treats higher socioeconomic status groups as the norm. See also 鈥淩ecognize words that assume a cultural norm.鈥�听In discussions of working-class and middle-class people in particular, aim to include the names of races and ethnicities beyond White to avoid perpetuating a perception that those classes are White only. See also 鈥淢inorities, non-White.鈥�

Example:

Use:

Buying a car is a privilege enjoyed by some teens in the US.

Avoid:

an important coming-of-age ritual for every teen

Do not use racially coded terms for socioeconomic status

Background:

Phrases like and 鈥済hetto鈥� have historically been used to describe majority-Black neighborhoods, and they continue to be used as , especially Black communities. Racially coded terms like these are imprecise and unclear. They also tend to equate location with a characteristic and ignore the policies and systems that create and perpetuate inequalities. The problems that people associate with the 鈥渋nner city鈥� in the US, for example, are not inherent to places at the cores of cities but are the result of discriminatory institutions. 鈥淕hetto, in slang usage, has entirely lost the sense of forced segregation鈥攖he meaning it held for centuries. In a rapid about-face, it's become an indictment of individual choices,鈥� Camila Domonoske says in a 2014 . See also 鈥淎void language that perpetuates racial or ethnic stereotypes or is rooted in violence against these groups.鈥�

Recommendation:

Avoid pejorative, racially coded terms such as 鈥渦rban,鈥� 鈥済hetto,鈥� and 鈥渋nner city.鈥�

Example:

Use:

听鈥�Majority-Black neighborhoods hold $609 billion in owner-occupied housing assets and are home to approximately 10,000 public schools and over 3 million businesses鈥� (, Nov. 27, 2018).

听

Avoid:

urban neighborhoods

How to refer to occupation

Background:

Calling jobs or people 鈥渦nskilled鈥� or g, and , as these jobs and . These terms are often 鈥渓umping together entry-level jobs, jobs that do not require much education or a formal credential, jobs that do not require experienced workers, jobs without much opportunity for advancement, menial jobs, and鈥攎ost of all鈥攍ow-wage jobs,鈥� Annie Lowrey says in a . Labeling the jobs and workers also seems to blame the people鈥攚ho, at least 鈥攔ather than the systems that created inequalities between types of jobs and the people who typically do those jobs. Furthermore, framing 鈥渓ow skill鈥� jobs as only temporary waystations to something greater devalues those positions. 鈥淭hese so-called 鈥榰nskilled鈥� jobs aren鈥檛 just stepping stones to something 鈥榞reater鈥� or more 鈥榲aluable.鈥� They aren鈥檛 merely summer jobs for teenagers and college students. These roles have immense value in and of themselves,鈥� Haley Johnson says in .

Another way people describe jobs is using the terms That terminology is vague, oversimplified, and outdated. Specific descriptions are clearer.

Recommendation:

Provide context and specific details when discussing jobs. Avoid representing some types of employment as being inherently better than others, and avoid describing jobs or workers as 鈥渦nskilled鈥� or 鈥渓ow skill.鈥� Use specific descriptions instead of 鈥渂lue collar鈥� and 鈥渨hite collar.鈥�

Examples:

Use:

"Out of all my high school jobs, lifeguarding came the closest to professional labor" (, Jan. 30, 2022).

Avoid:

closest to a real job

Use:

鈥�Low wage laborers or small farmers collect plant material from forests, pastureland, roadsides, and fallow agricultural land鈥� (ACS Symposium Series 2016, vol. 1218, ).

Avoid:

Low-skill workers

Use:

鈥淯nderstanding the extent to which PFAS exposures differ between firefighters and office workers can elucidate which compounds are likely to have occupational sources鈥� (Environ. Sci. Technol. 2020, ).

Avoid:

white-collar workers

How to refer to housing status

Background:

People may experience chronic, transitional, or episodic , which can include living outdoors or in inadequate dwellings. Lower socioeconomic status groups and people living in poverty are at a . The term 鈥渉omeless鈥� has different meanings to different people. 鈥淏eing homeless doesn鈥檛 necessarily mean someone is sleeping on the street or in a car. It can mean sleeping on a friend鈥檚 sofa due to the lack of an alternative. Many college students don鈥檛 realize this and, therefore, don鈥檛 consider themselves homeless,鈥� Denise-Marie Ordway says in a .

Some organizations, such as the American Psychological Association, , such as 鈥減eople experiencing homelessness,鈥� instead of 鈥渉omeless people.鈥� Some advocates, particularly on the West Coast of the US, using the verb form partly to signal that becoming homeless is the result of events and not inherent to a person. because 鈥渉omeless鈥� has become linked to negative stereotypes about people who do not have permanent housing.

Recommendation:

When discussing people who do not have access to fixed, regular, or adequate housing, describe the specific situation, and avoid generalizing and dehumanizing labels. Do not use the label 鈥渢he homeless鈥� (see also 鈥淎void labeling people by a characteristic鈥�). In general, ask people how they want to be described, and respect that choice (see 鈥淎sk people how they want to be described, and respect that language鈥�). If you cannot determine preference and need to group people, use 鈥減eople experiencing homelessness鈥� or another person-first alternative instead of 鈥渉omeless people.鈥�

Example:

Use:

Large-scale additive manufacturing, or 3-D printing, has drawn attention for its potential to create affordable, quickly constructed structures鈥攍ike in Austin, Texas, where the technology was recently used to build homes for people experiencing homelessness (, Mar. 30, 2020).

Avoid:

the homeless

Avoid outdated and generalizing terms for countries

Background:

The terms 鈥渄eveloping/developed鈥� and 鈥渇irst/third world鈥� are considered to be outdated, imprecise, and demeaning. 鈥淒eveloping鈥� suggests that development is a linear process in which 鈥渄eveloped鈥� countries have reached full civilization. It assumes that 鈥渄eveloping鈥� countries鈥� success hinges on mirroring 鈥渄eveloped鈥� countries鈥� strategies and ideologies, and it categorized as 鈥渄eveloped鈥� or 鈥渄eveloping.鈥� In 2016, the World Bank countries in its World Development Indicators.

as more recent alternatives in scholarly communication. usually refers to Latin America, Africa, Oceania, and lower-income countries in Asia. But for their ambiguity, and they can obscure important differences within countries. , like 鈥渕ajority world鈥� and 鈥渕inority world,鈥� are less well known. The problem with all names of global socioeconomic categories is that 鈥済rouping together a large variety of countries and regions into one category implies similarity across all the countries that are meant to comprise this group, one which simply does not exist economically, socially or politically,鈥� Natasha Holland writes in a .

The : 鈥淭he terms are geographically imprecise, do not have widely accepted definitions and are generally used as sanitized synonyms for poverty. Using generalized terms to imply poverty across large land areas and countries that have little else in common reflects bias and defines complex communities by foreign standards of wealth.鈥�

Recommendation:

Avoid using broad, vague terms that signal entire parts of the globe as 鈥渙ther,鈥� such as "developed" and "developing鈥� nations and "first world" and "third world" countries. When discussing groups of countries, identify them by name or specific geographic regions. If the groups are not based on location, specifically define the issues you are exploring, and use classifications based on actual data. For example, the per capita and reassesses the classifications each year. But note that can inaccurately portray a country as homogeneous.

Examples:

Use:

low-income countries in East Asia

听

Avoid:

the Global South

Use:

鈥淭he Dutch situation indicates the possibility of lowering As levels in high-income countries even without formal legislation but purely through decision making based on the precautionary principle鈥� (Environ. Sci. Technol. 2021, ).

Avoid:

first-world countries

Use:

鈥淯nlike in the U.S., where academic researchers are largely supported by government funding, Cuba doesn鈥檛 give out grants or regular research stipends鈥� (, April 24, 2017).

Avoid:

Unlike in developed countries . . . developing countries don鈥檛

Resources on inclusive language for socioeconomic status

  • Abrahams, Jessica. Prospect, Dec. 5, 2019.
  • American Psychological Association. Bias-Free Language. Sept. 2019.
  • Hill, Natalie, Spur Communication.
  • Holland, Natasha. Travel for Difference (blog), March 27, 2019.
  • Ordway, Denise-Marie, and Heather Bryant. Journalist鈥檚 Resource, Sept. 4, 2018.
  • Silver, Marc. NPR, Jan. 8, 2021.
  • Teixeira da Silva, Jaime A. Eur. Sci. Editing 47 (2021): e67829. https://doi.org/10.3897/ese.2021.e67829.
  • Walker, Alissa, and Emma Alpern. Curbed, June 11, 2020.
  • Whelan, Kerri. Insights (blog). Plan International, Feb. 9, 2021.
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