What do you mean by horizontal and vertical mobility?

Horizontal Mobility: Horizontal mobility is when there is a change is the position of the individual occupation or otherwise without changing the position in the social hierarchy. This means that the individual is changing his position but remains within the same social position of the hierarchy. Let us comprehend this through an example. A person who works as a teacher in a school decides to change her occupation and work as a project coordinator in a non-governmental organization. In such a situation, although the person changes the position to a new one, there is no significant change in the position in the social hierarchy. In other words, the social status of the person remains unchanged.

Vertical Mobility: Vertical mobility is when there is a change in the position of the individual that leads to a change in the positioning in the social hierarchy. Let us comprehend this through an example. A persons who works as a customer assistant in a shop, works hard and earns money and starts up his own factory. He ends up being a successful businessman that owns a chain of shops in a region. In such a situation, there is a clear change in the position of the individual in the social hierarchy.

Vertical mobility can come with occupation, education, wealth, marriage and even ethnicity. However, it is important to highlight that vertical mobility is not always upward. It can even be downward as well.