Mobility from poverty in the US has captured the attention of researchers and policymakers in recent years because of persistent income and wealth inequality and a fading American Dream. Often the concept of upward mobility is viewed strictly in economic terms, but it has evolved to encompass social factors. The US Partnership on Mobility from Poverty developed a broader definition of mobility with three core principles: economic success, power and autonomy, and being valued in community. This three-part definition of upward mobility has resonated with leaders who recognize the need for social connections and dynamics for people to be upwardly mobile.
The Urban Institute’s Upward Mobility Framework, which provides data and tools for community stakeholders to develop and advance policies and programs that increase upward mobility and racial equity, has adopted the US Partnership’s three-part definition of mobility. Many pillars and metrics in the framework measure traditional forms of economic success, such as in housing, employment, education, income, and wealth. The framework also includes metrics related to power and autonomy, particularly in its “responsive and just governance” and “opportunity-rich and inclusive neighborhoods” pillars.
The concepts of dignity and belonging are central to being valued in community and upward mobility. Our summary of research shows a sense of belonging is tied to positive academic and health outcomes and overall well-being. Similarly, a growing body of research looking into the concept of dignity demonstrates the importance of recognition (“being seen”) to how people are doing. As leading dignity scholar Michèle Lamont asserts in Seeing Others, “whether groups are recognized and afforded dignity is just as important to their flourishing as human beings, just as vital to their drive to be all they can be [as money and power].”
What is dignity and how is it measured?
The term dignity has a complex, contested history and meaning, morally, politically, and legally; but at its core, it generally speaks to a universal sense of worth and status. The United Nations, in its Universal Declaration of Human Rights, asserts that “all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.” By this principle, dignity pertains to rights of individuals to be respected and valued, and it also speaks to group identity and rights.
For sociologists Matthew Andersson and Steven Hitlin, dignity “stems from collectively shared meanings, resources, or norms within social groups or individual lives.” Lamont also contends dignity develops from “how social resilience, a capacity of groups, is enabled by institutions (for instance, policies and the law) that send messages about who belongs, who matters, and who is worthy.” In the 2019 book Getting Respect, Lamont and colleagues investigate racism in the US, Brazil, and Israel, and they find that people who experienced discrimination speak about “assaults on their worth” (e.g., being overlooked, underestimated, ignored, or insulted) more than about examples of systemic racism. Our unequal economic system and what Lamont calls “the American dream and its myth of meritocracy” create an environment where certain people, such as people of color and people living in poverty, do not receive sufficient recognition and respect. This reality has led economic policy makers such as Gene Sperling to argue that the field should focus on maximizing fulfillment and dignity of people, not just financial measures.
Because dignity can be ambiguous and context dependent, it can be difficult to measure. In 2004, public health expert Sir Michael Marmot asked about dignity: “If we cannot measure it, how will we know we are achieving it?” Following recent work on creating alternatives to economic measures such as well-being and happiness, Gene Sperling has proposed creating an Economic Dignity Index.
The US Partnership explored a number of ways to measure being valued in community, such as the perceived discrimination scale and the sense of social fit scale. Andersson and Hitlin analyzed Gallup survey data to measure what they call “subjective dignity” and how it varies across educational attainment and health status. While this work is nascent, it could provide helpful insights in developing methods that measure and track dignity and understanding its role in upward mobility.
How can leaders support dignity?
As the definition of dignity and how to measure it become clearer, it is important that efforts to increase upward mobility include approaches and policies that support the dignity of community residents and groups. Calls from scholars and practitioners to support dignity fall into three broad spheres: in work, in narrative, and in community.
Dignity in work
An obvious area where people’s value can be recognized is in work. A recent report Advancing a People First Economy by the American Academy of Arts & Sciences’ Commission on Reimagining Our Economy states that “work is a crucial component of American life and is vital for the pursuit of dignity” and that there should be “practices and policies that ensure workers receive the respect and compensation they are due.” In other words, policies should protect workers’ rights, provide living wages and benefits, and offer supports, such as paid family leave and bereavement leave. Programs that provide supports to people with barriers to work, such as YouthBuild, can create a sense of dignity and belonging among their participants.
Dignity in narrative
For Michèle Lamont, how we talk about people is just as important as the polices implemented to support their dignity. To counter individualistic thinking and the stigmatization of marginalized groups, she calls for “narratives of hope” that will build social resilience. Lamont argues for an approach she calls “ordinary universalism,” which emphasizes common ground and similarities across groups of people while respecting differences across race, religion, sexual orientation, and other identities. Resources for addressing narratives around upward mobility are available from groups such as the US Partnership on Mobility from Poverty, Opportunity Agenda, and Frameworks Institute.
Dignity in community
Gene Sperling argues that to advance economic dignity there must be efforts to address racism, sexual harassment, and other forms of discrimination in the workplace, as these goals are important for recognizing the dignity of people more broadly. Local governments can also implement inclusive practices and policies to advance racial equity and support opportunity-rich and inclusive neighborhoods and environmental quality.
The Upward Mobility Framework’s dignity and belonging concepts are part of the “being valued in community” dimension. When people feel valued, are connected to others, and contribute to their communities, they are also more likely to have the autonomy and power to achieve economic success.
