Inequalities across race, tribe and caste Understanding Inequality - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Inequalities across race, tribe and caste Understanding Inequality in Brazil and India Jawaharlal Nehru University New Delhi 17 February 2015

Introduction • Do caste in India and race in Brazil play similar roles in inequality? • Discrimination in the labour market principally occurs in three ways: – through barriers to entry in the labour market; – through restricted occupational mobility within the internal labour markets; – different returns to work for the same occupation. • Social groups and race plays an important role in those three ways.

What is “race” in Brazil? • Race is not defined by biological factors, but is it a “social construct”. • Racial cleavages in Brazil are the product of ideological remnant of its slavery past and the historical transformation of racial relations and disparities during the industrialization and urbanization process on XX Century. • Race is a self-identified information in Brazilian surveys. The racial differentiation has no legal or institutional basis. • The perception of each individual on their own race may change depending on the social context in which he finds himself.

The caste system in India • The caste system in India is based on the principle that each caste has a fixed hereditary occupation by birth, resulting in a well-defined pattern of inclusions and exclusions in society. • Some disadvantaged sections of the population were categorised into distinct groups by The Constitution in 1950. • Indian constitution prohibits caste-based discrimination, and over the years since Independence a variety of policies have attempted to overcome this form of inequality; but it persists.

Brazil: distribution of population by race (%) • Non-white is not a sociological category, but 1995 2011 just a way of putting White 54,4% 47,8% together “racial” groups White that have in common a Yellow 0,5% 0,6% relative distance from the Black 4,9% 8,2% other group, the whites. Non- Mixed-colour 40,1% 43,1% white • In socioeconomic Indigenous 0,1% 0,4% terms, mixed people are in Source: PNAD between the blacks and the whites, but much closer to the former.

India: distribution of population by social groups (%) • Scheduled Castes (SCs) social group 2011 • Scheduled Tribes (STs) STs 8,5% • Other Backward Classes SCs 19,7% (OBCs): Hindu caste groups located in the middle of the OBCs 41,1% caste hierarchy Others 30,8% Total 100,0% • Others: middle and upper caste.

Brazil: employment status across race (%) 100% The non-whites are • 5 7 10 12 5 2 90% over-represented 6 2 20 80% 21 among the unpaid 24 22 workers and the self- 70% 16 employed 60% 23 18 50% 27 But there is a large • 40% increase in the share of 30% registered employment 54 46 44 20% among blacks and 34 mixed-colour workers 10% 0% Racial segmentation in • 1995 2011 1995 2011 the labour market still persists, but has been Non-white White less intense. Registered Employee Non-registered Employee Self-Employed Employer Unpaid Source: PNAD

India: employment status across social groups (%) 100% Disadvantaged social • 16 groups are mainly 18 90% 29 31 engaged in sectors that 38 80% 44 are less productive with 48 54 22 26 70% low levels of income. 16 12 60% 9 Casual wage • 7 50% earners, both in the rural 15 and urban areas, come 40% 10 disproportionately from 30% 60 58 57 the SC and ST 55 54 49 communities. 20% 37 35 10% • Regular forms of employment in both 0% public and private 1999-00 2011-12 1999-00 2011-12 1999-00 2011-12 1999-00 2011-12 sectors are dominated SCs STs OBCs Others by the upper castes. Self employed Regular Casual Workers

Brazil: labour income ratios between white and non-white workers 2.50 Downward trend in • 2.05 2.00 labour income ratio 2.00 1.73 1.70 across race. 1.70 1.66 1.51 1.47 1.45 1.38 1.50 The fall in the ratio • occurs in every 1.00 employment status, but it remains 0.50 higher among the 0.00 informal workers. This helped to • decrease the racial inequality in the distribution of labour income 1995 2011 Source: PNAD

India: wage ratios between social groups • Upper castes in regular, urban work Rural Urban had significantly Regular Casual Regular Casual higher earnings than SC/ST 0,81 1,19 0,80 1,17 other groups; and STs had significantly 1999- OBC/SC 1,15 1,01 0,94 1,07 lower earnings in 2000 casual work than Others/OBC 1,30 1,09 1,47 1,03 other groups. SC/ST 0,86 1,20 0,77 1,17 • Overall there is some 2011- sign of wage OBC/SC 1,09 1,02 1,11 1,06 2012 differentials Others/OBC 1,28 0,99 1,55 0,87 widening, with STs doing badly and upper castes doing well.

Brazil: distribution of white and non-white occupied workers by level of education (%) • The shares of non- 100% 1.8 6.3 8.8 9.8 white workers with 17.2 90% 10.4 complete 18.5 80% 31.4 primary, secondary 70% 14.9 and higher education 38.1 60% jumped, compared to 18.3 54.2 50% the same shares of 40% white workers. 16.2 48.8 30% 31.2 • Reduction of the gap 20% 22.9 in the educational 23.7 10% attainment between 12.7 9 5.7 0% white and non-white 1995 2011 1995 2011 workers, however, it Non white White still very uneven. No schooling Incomp. Primary Educ. Comp. Primary Educ. Secondary Educ. Higher Educ. Source: PNAD

India: Literacy rates among SCs, STs and total population (%) The gaps in literacy 70 • 64 rates between SCs, STs 60 and others have 54 52 declined 50 47 43 substantially, especiall 40 37 y after 1980. 34 29 28 30 • However, the caste 21 inequalities persist in 20 16 14 secondary and tertiary 11 10 8 10 education, which are required for access to 0 good jobs. 1961 1971 1981 1991 2001 Total Population Scheduled Castes Scheduled Tribes

Summing up Historical inequalities among population groups, with different origins but • with similar effects, give rise to unequal labour market opportunities, and these are reflected in labour market structures. • In India the primary mechanism is one of exclusion of lower castes from good jobs. Whereas in Brazil there are more open job access, but larger wage differentials within labour market segments, which might for instance reflect more limited options for progression for non-whites. • The results also point to the effect of pre-labour market inequality, which are reflected by the low educational attainment of non-whites in Brazil and the unequal access to education for lower castes in India. There are signs that at least some aspects of racial inequality are declining • in Brazil; while in India, caste and community differences are very persistent. This is also reflected in an increased, but still limited, social mobility of the non-whites, while in India it would only happen for some groups.