vertical mobility

noun Sociology.

1. movement from one social level to a higher one (upward mobility) or a lower one (downward mobility), as by changing jobs or marrying.
2. cultural diffusion from one social level to another, as the adoption by one economic class of the fashions current or formerly current in a higher class.

noun

1. sociol the movement of individuals or groups to positions in society that involve a change in class, status, and powerCompare horizontal mobility See also upward mobility, downward mobility