Structural Inequality
Structural inequality refers to persistent patterns of disadvantage that are produced and reinforced through social, economic, political and institutional systems. Rather than being explained only by individual circumstances or choices, structural inequality considers how access to resources, opportunities, rights and power can be unevenly distributed across different groups within society.
Structural Inequality and Community Development
Within Community Development, structural inequality is important because it shifts attention from individual problems toward the broader conditions that create and maintain disadvantage. A community may experience unemployment, poor housing, exclusion or limited access to services not simply because of local circumstances, but because of wider systems, policies and distributions of power.
This creates a strong connection with Social Justice, which seeks to identify and challenge unfair structures rather than only responding to their consequences. Capacity Building and community advocacy can therefore involve helping communities develop the collective power, networks and skills needed to influence the systems that affect them.
Position in this Vault
This is a supporting structural note linking Social Justice, Community Development, Empowerment and Capacity Building Building It provides a useful lens for distinguishing between responses that address symptoms of disadvantage and those that seek to change its underlying causes.
- Ledwith, M. (2020). Community Development: A Critical and Radical Approach. Policy Press.