Who (else) is involved? - How voluntary associations connect and separate us

Thesis

Voluntary associations, such as sports clubs, cultural organizations, and hobby groups, are often praised for their ability to foster social cohesion by connecting people from different walks of life. Yet, whether they live up to these hopes critically depends on the representation of social groups in distinct (types of) voluntary associations and their social integration within them. To assess the extent to which voluntary associations facilitate intergroup contact, I develop a framework distinguishing between individuals’ entry into, social experience in, and eventual exit of voluntary associations with different social compositions. Guided by this framework, each of the four stand-alone empirical chapters employs unique German and Dutch survey data to study how three major fault lines unfold in civic life. Findings indicate that (i) people’s gender-homophilous friendship networks and traditional gender norms bring about gender segregation in civic life; (ii) joining voluntary associations is followed by increases in access to (high-status) social capital but differences in take-up rates and returns of involvement across socioeconomic groups implies that voluntary involvement hardly reduces social capital inequalities; (iii) there is ethnic segregation across and within voluntary associations and participants integrate less well in and are more likely to leave associations with more ethnic outgroup members; and (iv) socioeconomic inequalities in voluntary involvement among adolescents are strongest before the involvement histories of privileged adolescents get interrupted by their transition to university. Overall, the strong segregation across and within (types of) organizations along gendered, socioeconomic, and ethnic divides are reinforced rather than bridged in civic life. The empirical findings underscoring this conclusion not only advance research on the integrative potential of voluntary associations but also enrich a broader literature on segregation, social capital, intergroup relations, and social cohesion.

Authors: Dederichs, K

• DOI: 10.5287/ora-kzpx9bwq6
• Type of award: DPhil
• Level of award: Doctoral
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: English
• Keywords: gender; civil society; social integration; segregation; voluntary associations; ethnicity; adolescence; social capital; social cohesion
• Subjects: Sociology; Social capital (Sociology); Voluntarism