Gender, Class, and the Art and Craft of Social Capital

Abstract

Social capital is generally recognized as the positive outcome of sociability and social connection and, more specifically, as the capacity to realize economic benefits through social connections. Limited attention has been paid to understanding the potential of social capital at the intersection of socioeconomic disadvantage. The first part of the article examines assumptions of class and gender in the theoretical literature on social capital. The second part explores the influence of class and gender contexts on social networks among women living in socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods in Victoria, Australia. The analysis reveals the ways in which social network assets are conditional on socioeconomic and gender circumstances.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The research on which this article is based was funded through a public health post-doctoral fellowship awarded by the National Health and Medical Council of Australia. An early version of the article was presented at a conference hosted by Deakin University, “Learning from the Margins: Inclusion/Exclusion, and the Educational and Social Experiences of ‘at Risk' Young Women,” which took place in Melbourne, July 2004. This article is based on the experiences of women; however, both men and women participated in the research, and I thank them for sharing their stories in the hope that it might make a difference. Priscilla Pyett offered useful comments on work in progress, and the ideas that are explored took shape through ongoing discussions with Jeannette Pope.