Latin American legislators, like legislators worldwide, are drawn from a narrow set of elites who are largely out of touch with average citizens. Despite comprising the vast majority of the labor force, working-class people represent a small slice of the legislature. Working Class Inclusion examines how the near exclusion of working-class citizens from legislatures affects citizens' evaluations of government. Combining surveys from across Latin America with novel data on legislators' class backgrounds and experiments from Argentina and Mexico, the book demonstrates voters want more workers in office, and when combined with policy representation, the presence of working-class legislators improves citizens' evaluations of government. Absent policy representation, however, workers are met with distrust and backlash. Chapters show citizens have many opportunities to learn about the presence, or absence, of workers; and the relationship between working-class representation and evaluations of government is strongest among citizens who are aware of legislators' class status.

"I recommend a book by Professor Williams, it is really worth a read, it's called White Working Class." -- Vice President Joe Biden on Pod Save America An Amazon Best Business and Leadership book of 2017 Around the world, populist movements are gaining traction among the white working class. Meanwhile, members of the professional elite—journalists, managers, and establishment politicians--are on the outside looking in, left to argue over the reasons. In White Working Class, Joan C. Williams, described as having "something approaching rock star status" by the New York Times, explains why so much of the elite's analysis of the white working class is misguided, rooted in class cluelessness. Williams explains that many people have conflated "working class" with "poor"--but the working class is, in fact, the elusive, purportedly disappearing middle class. They often resent the poor and the professionals alike. But they don't resent the truly rich, nor are they particularly bothered by income inequality. Their dream is not to join the upper middle class, with its different culture, but to stay true to their own values in their own communities--just with more money. While white working-class motivations are often dismissed as racist or xenophobic, Williams shows that they have their own class consciousness. White Working Class is a blunt, bracing narrative that sketches a nuanced portrait of millions of people who have proven to be a potent political force. For anyone stunned by the rise of populist, nationalist movements, wondering why so many would seemingly vote against their own economic interests, or simply feeling like a stranger in their own country, White Working Class will be a convincing primer on how to connect with a crucial set of workers--and voters.

This book provides an inclusive and incisive analysis of the experiences of working-class young people in education. While there is an established literature on education and the working class stretching back decades, comparatively there has been something of a neglect of class-based inequality – with questions of gender, ‘race’ and other forms of identity attracting significant attention. However, events including Britain's 2016 decision to leave the European Union, have thrown social class into sharp focus, both in the UK and elsewhere. Featuring leading thinkers in the sociology of education, this book examines the different ways in which young people relate to various parts of the education system, including different forms of schooling, post-compulsory and university education. They maintain that the issue of social class goes beyond the walls of specific institutions to affect young people in a variety of ways: not only in the UK, but across the globe. This book will be of great value and interest to students and scholars of the sociology of education, working-class youth, and equality of opportunity.

This book is a twist on the current discourse around ‘inclusivity’ and ‘widening participation’. Higher education is welcoming students from diverse educational, social, and economic backgrounds, and yet it predominantly employs middle-class academics. Conceptually, there appears, on at least these grounds alone, to be a cultural and class mismatch. This work discusses empirical interviews with tenured academics from a working-class heritage employed in one UK university. Interviewees talk candidly about their childhood backgrounds, their school experiences, and what happened to them after leaving compulsory education. They also reveal their experiences of university, both as students and academics from their early careers to the present day. This book will be of interest to an international audience that includes new and aspiring academics who come from a working-class background themselves. The multifaceted findings will also be relevant to established academics and students of sociology, education studies and social class.

This book presents a timely perspective that puts working-class people at the forefront of achieving sustainability. Bell argues that environmentalism is a class issue, and confronts some current practice, policy and research that is preventing the attainment of sustainability and a healthy environment for all. She combines two of the biggest challenges facing humanity: that millions of people around the world still do not have their social and environmental needs met (including healthy food, clean water, affordable energy, clean air); and that the earth’s resources have been over-used or misused. Bell explores various solutions to these social and ecological crises and lays out an agenda for simultaneously achieving greater well-being, equality and sustainability. The result will be an invaluable resource for practitioners and policy-makers working to achieve environmental and social justice, as well as to students and scholars across social policy, sociology, human geography, and environmental studies.

Built on research findings and data from a wide variety of empirical and attitudinal sources, this book raises timely issues about elitism, expansion, quality and access in higher education.

Recent events such as the Brexit vote and the 2017 general election result highlight the erosion of traditional class identities and the decoupling of class from political identity. The majority of people in the UK still identify as working class, yet no political party today can confidently articulate their interests. So who is now working class and how do political parties gain their support? Based on the opinions and voices of lower and middle income voters, this insightful book proposes what needs to be done to address the issues of the 'new working class'. Outlining the composition, values, and attitudes of the new working class, it provides practical recommendations for political parties to reconnect with the electorate and regain trust.