Inclusion refers to the social practices or official policy dedicated to creating an environment where individuals of all backgrounds, abilities, and identities are valued, respected, and provided equal opportunities to participate and thrive. Inclusion can be achieved in various areas- the economy, social institutions, education, etc. It goes beyond just allowing people to be present—it's about actively ensuring that everyone has the support they need to succeed and contribute fully, regardless of differences such as race, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, or cultural background. Inclusion aims to overcome different types of oppression that a group experiences – discrimination and prejudice, exclusion (from work, education, and access to institutions), and separation (both physical and cultural).

Inclusion can be applied in various contexts, like schools, workplaces, communities, and society in general, and it often involves efforts such as: promoting diversity, providing accessible opportunities and resources, encouraging respectful behavior and communication, and fostering a sense of belonging.

In Women's Place: Option and Limits on Professional Careers (1970), Cynthia Fuchs Epstein examines women's ability to pursue the most prestigious professions, with the greatest focus on the legal profession. The theoretical framework of this research was Merton's neo-functionalism. In the 1960s, the share of women in the labor force in the United States was significant, but they were pushed to occupations "appropriate" for women and were almost excluded from the most prestigious professions. Epstein concluded that men who were leaders in prestigious professions were very openly opposed to the inclusion of women in those professions. In addition, there were very limited quotas for women's enrollment in medical and law schools. Discrimination continued for women who managed to graduate from college, because the men who decided on employment, both in private companies and in state institutions, refused to hire women.

In his book Relative Deprivation and Social Justice (1966), Walter Runciman uses historical and survey data to show how the feelings of social justice and class consciousness, that individuals have, are relative rather than an absolute category. Individuals compare their situation in relation to those they consider similar to themselves. It is the comparison with reference groups that gives people a sense of satisfaction or injustice and affects their attitude toward social justice. Runciman believes that there are three principles based on which inequalities in wealth and status can be justified: need, personal value, and contribution to the common good. The inequalities that are the product of these principles are fair and may serve as a justification for those who have fared worse, as to why their position is such as it is.

However, Runciman believes that there should be a limit to permissible inequalities, as well as a sense of inclusion that will include those with less wealth or poorer status in a shared commitment to basic norms and expectations prevalent in society. Inclusion should also include economic measures that will prevent poverty and thus ensure that everyone lives a normal life and participates in social life. Measures that will ensure social inclusion are: equalization of income, full employment, a high level of social protection, and high redistributive taxes. Non-economic measures of inclusion are the realization of great equality of chances for achieving education, as well as the full democratic participation of all citizens. Runciman believes that no spontaneous development of class consciousness will lead to a class action, which would enable the realization of such social justice.

Sen's biggest contribution to economics is his development economics, which rejected conventional measures of development and well-being. He criticized the overemphasis on Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as a measure of a nation's progress and advocated for a broader perspective that considers people's capabilities and freedoms. While economic growth is only focused on producing more goods and services, development is focused on expanding people's capabilities, health and life expectancy, literacy, and education. Sen's influential concept of the "capability approach" emphasizes that development should be seen as a process that expands people's capabilities, enabling them to lead lives they have reason to value. He points to countries like Sri Lanka, China, and Costa Rica, which expanded capabilities and opportunities for people despite low economic growth. To better explain development, Sen introduces two new theoretical concepts – “capabilities” and “functionings”. Capabilities represent the range of choices and substantive freedoms that are available to someone, while functionings are actual things that someone wants to do or be. In that sense, poverty is really a deprivation of capabilities. Capabilities and functionings determine individual welfare, while only capabilities influence the welfare of the whole society. Sen saw expanding literacy as one of the most important ways of expanding individual and collective capabilities. Sen’s approach to development influenced the creation of the United Nations' Human Development Report. Sen also tied development to gender issues, as poverty and deprivation affect women more adversely. Lack of access to nutrition and healthcare is more pronounced in women, leading to disparity in undeveloped countries where there are statistically fewer women than men, while in developed countries, the situation is reversed. For that reason, Sen advised that efforts to alleviate poverty and deprivation should focus on women – improving nutrition, finding work outside the household, improving literacy, and the like.

Townsend believes that it is not enough to observe absolute poverty, but it is necessary to observe poverty in a relative sense. To do so, he focused his study on relative poverty and relative deprivation. It is a society that determines which needs are considered necessary, both in terms of nutrition and in terms of the quality and equipment of living space. Poverty reduces the ability of families and individuals to participate adequately in social life and in other activities that are considered a normal part of life. Townsend views classes in the Weberian sense and believes that they are key to redistributing resources in a society. Poverty is not only related to a low-class background but also low social status. The poor, in addition to not owning economic goods, also have a lower social reputation. And low social status itself leads to social exclusion and reduced opportunities to find employment. Townsend proposed measures that would lead to a reduction of poverty: 1) introduce restrictions on wealth and income and provide assistance to the unemployed; 2) ensure a link between average income and the amount of financial assistance; 3) progressive taxation and redistribution of wealth; 4) increasing number of jobs with state subventions to employers and expanding the number of public and state jobs.

References:

Epstein. Women's Place: Option and Limits on Professional Careers (1970);

Parsons. Societies: Evolutionary and Comparative Perspectives (1966);

     -     The System of Modern Societies (1971);

Runciman. Relative Deprivation and Social Justice: A Study of Attitudes to Social Inequality in Twentieth-Century Britain (1966).