UCSP ♡ Social Inequality & Stratification

Social Inequality

• lack of social equality

• individuals in a society do not have equal social status

Factors that contribute to social inequality

1. Educational Attainment

2. Wealth and Poverty

3. Power

4. Gender Inequality

5. Social Issues in the 21st century

Educational Attainment/Inequality

• unequal distribution of academic resources

Wealth and Poverty

• unequal distribution of wealth

Power

• connotes economic, cultual and social position

• unequal distribution of power across the population

Gender Inequality

• social phenomenon in which people are not treated equally on the basis of gender

Social Issues in the 21st

• in the contemporary times is essential topic when talking about social inequality

Local Inequalities

• local inequality aversion

• a principle that it is desirable per se to have lower levels of inequality locally

National Inequalities

• disparities in income, wealth, and opportunities that exist within a particular country or nation

Global Inequalities

• the World is not an equal place

Social Stratification

• system by which a society ranks categories of people in a hierarchy

  • trait of society

  • carries over from generation to generation

  • universal but variable

  • involves inequality and beliefs

Causes of Social Stratification

• Inequality

• Instability

• Conflict

• Power

• Wealth

Slavery

• earliest form of social stratification

• do not have citizenship rights

• existed in Europe and other ancient nations

  • 500 BC to 600 BC

Caste

• hereditary intermarrying group which determines the individual’s status

Caste of India

Brahmans > Kshatriyas > Vaisyas > Shudras > Harijans

Class

• status group and in only society

• persons economic position in a society

Status

• persons prestige, social honor, or popularity

Power

• person’s ability to get their way despite resistance of others

Education

• educated people are better rated and respected

Economic Resources

• size of landholding in rural areas

• those who belong to serving class or high class or professionals

Occupation

• lower and high class workers

• skilled and unskilled labor

Prestige

• nobility of individuals

Social Mobilty

• moving from one social class to another

Horizontal Mobility

• a person changes his or her occupation but the overall social standing remains the same

Vertical Mobility

• any change in the occupational, economic, or political status of an individual or a group

• may be upward or downward mobility

Upward Mobility

• when a person moves from a lower position to an upper position

Downward Mobility

• one loses his higher position and occupies a lower position

Inter-Generational Mobility

• one generation changes its social status in contrast to preceding generation