Class Inequality and Social Mobility in Northern Ireland,1973 to 1996

Data from 1973 and 1996 are used to examine changes in the class structures and patterns of social mobility of Catholic and Protestant men in Northern Ireland. Specifically, this study investigates whether the disadvantaged class position that Catholics occupied under the Stormont regime (1922–1972) has been ameliorated, and if so, to what extent. The class structures of Protestant and Catholic men have become more similar over the 1973–1996 period, and there has also been a decline in the importance of ascriptive features (e.g., class origins and ethnic group membership) in determining class position. For both Catholics and Protestants, advantages that in 1973 accrued to those from favorable class origins were much reduced by 1996. Similarly, the advantages that Protestants held over Catholics, controlling for class origins, have been greatly reduced. Explanations for these trends are suggested, and the implications of these trends for the extent of anti-Catholic discrimination in Northern Ireland are discussed.