Theorizing inequalities in volunteering: Structural effects and social organization in deprived neighbourhoods

ABSTRACT This article focuses on the relationship between volunteering and socio-economic status, suggesting that the insights provided by social organization theory can contribute to explanations of low levels of volunteering in areas exhibiting high levels of deprivation. The piece aims to provide a complementary framework to work alongside existing theories of inequalities in voluntary action, to reach towards an account which elucidates the role of structural factors in affecting the likelihood of volunteering in deprived areas. The article illustrates value of such an approach through an account of ethnographic research in a deprived neighbourhood in England, suggesting that by paying close attention to the configurations of social life in such areas it is possible to shed new light on the relationship between deprivation and volunteering.