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Lecture 9-1

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Lecture 9-1

Uploaded by

euniceadebayo38
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Lecture 9

Social inequality
Social inequality is characterized by the existence of unequal opportunities and rewards for
different social positions or statuses within a group or society. It contains structured and
recurrent patterns of unequal distributions of goods, wealth, opportunities, rewards, and
punishments.

Social stratification
Social stratification refers to a society’s categorization of its people into rankings based on
factors like wealth, income, education, family background, and power.

Geologists also use the word “stratification” to describe the distinct vertical layers found in rock.
Typically, society’s layers, made of people, represent the uneven distribution of society’s
resources. Society views the people with more resources as the top layer of the social structure of
stratification. Other groups of people, with fewer and fewer resources, represent the lower layers.
An individual’s place within this stratification is called socioeconomic status (SES).

Defining and measuring social class

There are two main ways to measure social inequality:

 Inequality of conditions
 Inequality of opportunities

Inequality of conditions refers to the unequal distribution of income, wealth, and material goods.
Housing, for example, is inequality of conditions with the homeless and those living in housing
projects sitting at the bottom of the hierarchy while those living in multi-million-dollar mansions
sit at the top.

Inequality of opportunities refers to the unequal distribution of life chances across individuals.
This is reflected in measures such as level of education, health status, and treatment by the
criminal justice system.

The consequences of class inequality


Class or social inequality causes a wide range of health and social problems, from reduced life
expectancy and higher infant mortality to poor educational attainment, lower social mobility and
increased levels of violence and mental illness.
Race (racism)
Racism is understood to be a phenomenon whereby access to rights and resources is unfairly
distributed across racial lines. In the context of the United States, people of color typically
experience racism, which benefits white people by conferring on them white privilege, which
allows them greater access to rights and resources than other Americans.

Ethnicity; In sociology, ethnic inequality tends to be defined in terms of 'life chances'. The
concept of ethnic inequality looks at the uneven distribution of life chances based on the social,
economic and political factors that impact the experience of ethnicity and the overall experience
of being.

Gender inequality: Gender inequality is the social phenomenon in which men and women are
not treated equally. The treatment may arise from distinctions regarding biology, psychology, or
cultural norms prevalent in the society. Some of these distinctions are empirically grounded,
while others appear to be social constructs.

Age stratification. In sociology, age stratification refers to the hierarchical ranking of people
into age groups within a society. Age stratification could also be defined as a system of
inequalities linked to age.

Age stratification based on an ascribed status is a major source inequality, and thus may lead
to ageism. Ageism is a social inequality resulting from age stratification. This is a sociological
concept that comes with studying aging population. [3] Age stratification within a population can
have major implications, affecting things such as workforce trends, social norms, family
structures, government policies, and even health outcomes.

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