Social Exclusion

Social exclusion refers to a process that deprives households or individuals of resources like income and social relationships with the wider society or community. Countries must take measures to avoid it as it leads to the inability of people to actively participate in a society's social, economic, and political functioning.

Because of this process, people may be unable to access opportunities and services like healthcare and public education. They may not even have necessities like electricity. Preventing the deprivation of these resources is not just the right thing. It also helps economies by improving employment and education outcomes, reducing the loss of wages, and minimizing healthcare expenditure.

• Social exclusion refers to a procedure through which groups or individuals are partially or entirely excluded from complete or full participation in the society they live in.
• Some reasons for social exclusion are unemployment, poor housing, low income, and crime.
• A key difference between social exclusion and inclusion is that in the case of the former, diversity is not valued and appreciated. However, in the latter case, diversity is appreciated and valued.
• There are various disadvantages of social marginalization. For example, it results in poverty and insecurity and does not allow certain groups and individuals to claim specific rights.

Social exclusion refers to a process that involves restricting social relations in addition to the denial of offering living and equal opportunities imposed by specific groups within the society upon others, leading to the inability of a person to actively take part in the society’s basic economic, social, and political functioning.

Nations must try to minimize or eliminate it so that different rights, resources, and opportunities are made available to the members of specific groups for the purpose of social integration. The availability of opportunities, rights, and resources is fundamental to observing human rights among the specific individuals within that particular group.

Some key characteristics of social marginalization can help people understand this concept better.

• Relational: Social exclusion means having no connection with society. This means there is insufficient participation and minimal social integration, besides the lack of power.
• Relative: Exclusion takes place in a specific society at a certain time. In other words, social marginalization in the 1970s is not the same as social exclusion in the 1990s.  
• Dynamic: The exclusion of groups and individuals occurs not only because of the ongoing situation but also because of future possibilities.
• Agency: The exclusion is outside an individual’s responsibility. Moreover, it results from others’ actions.
• Multidimensional: One cannot measure social marginalization by earnings or income only. It is made of different kinds of exclusion together. Such kinds include difficulty accessing education, lack of employment, poor housing, etc.

The reasons for social exclusion or social marginalization are as follows:

• Low Income: This is one of the main reasons why many individuals do not have a relationship with the wider society. Employment circumstances and the type of family are the main drivers of income poverty.
• Unemployment: The inability to partake in the labor market is one of the crucial reasons why this process occurs.  
• Poor Health: Health is related to social marginalization in different ways. This is because one’s health status determines their social position. Unhealthiness drives social marginalization, which can result in poor health.
• Poor Housing: Persons sleeping rough or living in insecure and temporary forms of accommodation are subject to social marginalization. Some reasons behind homelessness include structural factors, like inequality, unemployment, housing shortages, etc., and risk factors, including institutional history.
• Crime: This is one of the most powerful drivers of community deprivation and income inequalities resulting from unemployment. Criminal records will likely result in social marginalization, impacting the chances of employment.

Let us look at a few social exclusion examples to understand the concept better.

Example #1

Suppose in Country ABC, people belonging to ethnic minority backgrounds are likely to be subject to discrimination with regard to accessing the nation’s labor market. This leads to them becoming vulnerable to social exclusion. Note that being unable to take part in the labor market and being unemployed are crucial factors concerning social marginalization. Also, unemployment leads to other kinds of exclusion, like homelessness.

Example #2

In June 2023, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres addressed the delegates, stressing that terrorism impacts all regions worldwide while exploiting national and local vulnerabilities. He warned that the three main factors fueling terrorism are inequalities, social exclusion, and poverty. Moreover, he added that criminal activities, such as illegal mining, money laundering etc., assist in filling terrorist coffers.

According to him, there are four objectives the counter-terrorism community must achieve. They are as follows:

• Strengthening the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy.
• Preventing the underlying conditions leading to terrorism
• Spotting human rights promotion
• Provide sufficient funding for efforts concerning counter-terrorism.  

Let us look at the effects of social marginalization.

• This process leads to different types of deprivations, such as cultural, educational, social, and economic.
• It can result in impoverished human life. Moreover, the sense of well-being developed by this process is poor.
• The process leads to social stigmatization.
• It results in the development of a fear complex.
• This process can cause poverty, involuntary migration, unemployment, and inequality.
• Social marginalization puts multiple restrictions on the excluded with regard to their full and free participation in cultural, political, and economic activities.
• Overall, it negatively impacts life quality.

Governments can take the following measures to minimize exclusion:

• Support participation and ownership in educational systems that promote active citizenship, strong democracies, and human dignity.
• Ensure that individuals in vulnerable or unfavorable situations can get access to housing and basic public services like healthcare.
• Eliminate financial challenges and other obstacles faced by people in poverty and persons in vulnerable situations.
• Establish legal, policy, and regulatory frameworks to promote social inclusion.
• Focus on long-term social, economic, and human development.
• Provide easy access to social protection.
• Minimize crime rate.

The disadvantages of this process are as follows:

• It deprives people of opportunities and choices to get out of poverty.
• This process does not allow them to claim their rights.
• It often results in insecurity and poverty

In addition, this process can lead to resistance conflicts as the excluded people may decide to protest.

Social exclusion and inclusion are opposite processes, and individuals must fully understand their differentiating factors to avoid confusion regarding these two concepts. So, let us dive into the distinct features.

This has been a guide to what is Social Exclusion. We explain its examples, causes, effects, how to reduce it, and comparison with social inclusion. You can learn more about it from the following articles –

• Social Justice
• Social Good
• Social Insurance