Quebec Social Stratification Revisited and Updated, 1971-2016
This contribution examines the changes that have profoundly transformed the social structure of Québec society since the Quiet Revolution. It proposes a new outline of social classes constructed in a neo-Durkheimian perspective and proposes a set of micro classes in order to furnish a detailed analysis of social stratification which covers the period 1971-2016. Old social classes have seen their relative weight decrease, especially among the working class as well as among employees, and new classes have emerged. The top of the social hierarchy has become wider and more divesified. Women have increased their presence in the 12 social classes, although important differences remain at a less aggregated level specified by the micro classes. A great convergence of social positions is observed between the metropolitan regions of Montreal and Quebec City, and the former city-countryside opposition has largely changed. The various regions have in 2016 many occupations typical of advanced modernity which require a certain cultural capital and they are still characterized by a large number of occupations linked to the exploitation of natural resources and to agriculture.