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Marginalized Group

Social exclusion (or marginalization) is social disadvantage and relegation to the fringe of society. It is a term used widely in Europe, and was first used in France. It is used across disciplines including education, sociology, psychology, politics and economics. Social exclusion is the process in which individuals or entire communities of people are systematically blocked from (or denied full access to) various rights, opportunities and resources that are normally available to members of a different group, and which are fundamental to social integration within that particular group (e.g., housing, employment, healthcare, civic engagement, democratic participation, and due process). Alienation or disenfranchisement resulting from social exclusion is often connected to a person's social class, educational status, childhood relationships, living standards, or personal choices in fashion. Such exclusionary forms of discrimination may also apply to people with a disability, minorities, members of the LGBT community, drug users, "seniors", or young people. Anyone who appears to deviate in any way from the "perceived norm" of a population may thereby become subject to coarse or subtle forms of social exclusion. The outcome of social exclusion is that affected individuals or communities are prevented from participating fully in the economic, social, and political life of the society in which they live. Most of the characteristics listed in this article are present together in studies of social exclusion, due to exclusion's multidimensionality. Another way of articulating the definition of social exclusion is as follows: One model to conceptualize social exclusion and inclusion is that they are on a continuum on a vertical plane below and above the 'social horizon'. According to this model, there are ten social structures that impact exclusion and can fluctuate over time: race, geographic location, class structure, globalization, social issues, personal habits and appearance, education, religion, economics and politics. In an alternative conceptualization, social exclusion theoretically emerges at the individual or group level on four correlated dimensions: insufficient access to social rights, material deprivation, limited social participation and a lack of normative integration. It is then regarded as the combined result of personal risk factors (age, gender, race); macro-societal changes (demographic, economic and labor market developments, technological innovation, the evolution of social norms); government legislation and social policy; and the actual behavior of businesses, administrative organisations and fellow citizens. An inherent problem with the term, however, is the tendency of its use by practitioners who define it to fit their argument.