How does stratification affect society

Typically, the upper classes have the most access to these resources while the lower classes may get few or none of them, putting them at a distinct disadvantage.

A look at wealth stratification in the U. The Federal Reserve attributes this trend to the richest Americans acquiring more assets; the financial crisis that devastated the housing market also contributed to the wealth gap. Social stratification isn't just based on wealth, however. In some societies, tribal affiliations, age, or caste result in stratification.

In groups and organizations, stratification may take the form of a distribution of power and authority down the ranks. Think of the different ways that status is determined in the military, schools, clubs, businesses, and even groupings of friends and peers. Regardless of the form it takes, social stratification can manifest as the ability to make rules, decisions, and establish notions of right and wrong.

Additionally, this power can be manifested as the capacity to control the distribution of resources and determine the opportunities, rights, and obligations of others. Sociologists recognize that a variety of factors, including social class , race , gender , sexuality, nationality, and sometimes religion, influence stratification. As such, they tend to take an intersectional approach to analyzing the phenomenon. This approach recognizes that systems of oppression intersect to shape people's lives and to sort them into hierarchies.

Consequently, sociologists view racism , sexism , and heterosexism as playing significant and troubling roles in these processes as well. In this vein, sociologists recognize that racism and sexism affect one's accrual of wealth and power in society.

The relationship between systems of oppression and social stratification is made clear by U. Census data that show a long-term gender wage and wealth gap has plagued women for decades , and though it has narrowed a bit over the years, it still thrives today. A survey of young adults in the U. They also have 8. These findings show that education clearly plays a role in social stratification, but race intersects with academic achievement in the U.

The Pew Research Center has reported that completion of college is stratified by ethnicity. This data reveals that systemic racism shapes access to higher education , which, in turn, affects one's income and wealth.

According to the Urban Institute , the average Latino family had just As a global center of employment, corporations have introduced merit-based hiring and employment to the nation. A class system is based on both social factors and individual achievement.

A class consists of a set of people who share similar status with regard to factors like wealth, income, education, and occupation. Unlike caste systems, class systems are open. People are free to gain a different level of education or employment than their parents.

They can also socialize with and marry members of other classes, which allows people to move from one class to another. In a class system, occupation is not fixed at birth. Though family and other societal models help guide a person toward a career, personal choice plays a role. In class systems, people have the option to form exogamous marriages , unions of spouses from different social categories. Marriage in these circumstances is based on values such as love and compatibility rather than on social standing or economics.

Though social conformities still exist that encourage people to choose partners within their own class, people are not as pressured to choose marriage partners based solely on those elements. Marriage to a partner from the same social background is an endogamous union. Meritocracy is an ideal system based on the belief that social stratification is the result of personal effort—or merit—that determines social standing.

High levels of effort will lead to a high social position, and vice versa. The concept of meritocracy is an ideal—because a society has never existed where social rank was based purely on merit. Because of the complex structure of societies, processes like socialization, and the realities of economic systems, social standing is influenced by multiple factors—not merit alone.

Inheritance and pressure to conform to norms, for instance, disrupt the notion of a pure meritocracy. While a meritocracy has never existed, sociologists see aspects of meritocracies in modern societies when they study the role of academic and job performance and the systems in place for evaluating and rewarding achievement in these areas. Social stratification systems determine social position based on factors like income, education, and occupation. Caste systems correlate with high status consistency, whereas the more flexible class system has lower status consistency.

Susan earned her high school degree but did not go to college. That factor is a trait of the lower-middle class. She began doing landscaping work, which, as manual labor, is also a trait of lower-middle class or even lower class. However, over time, Susan started her own company. She hired employees. She won larger contracts. She became a business owner and earned a lot of money. Those traits represent the upper-middle class. In a class system, a person can work hard and have little education and still be in middle or upper class, whereas in a caste system that would not be possible.

In a class system, low status consistency correlates with having more choices and opportunities. Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, who is in line to be king of England, married Catherine Middleton, a so-called commoner, meaning she does not have royal ancestry. It is rare, though not unheard of, for a member of the British royal family to marry a commoner.

Kate Middleton has an upper-class background, but does not have royal ancestry. Her father was a former flight dispatcher and her mother a former flight attendant and owner of Party Pieces. Its social hierarchy placed royalty at the top and commoners on the bottom. This was generally a closed system, with people born into positions of nobility.

Wealth was passed from generation to generation through primogeniture , a law stating that all property would be inherited by the firstborn son. If the family had no son, the land went to the next closest male relation. Women could not inherit property, and their social standing was primarily determined through marriage. Commoners moved to cities, got jobs, and made better livings. Gradually, people found new opportunities to increase their wealth and power.

The long-ago differences between nobility and commoners have blurred, and the modern class system in Britain is similar to that of the United States McKee Today, the royal family still commands wealth, power, and a great deal of attention.

If he abdicates chooses not to become king or dies, the position will go to Prince William. If that happens, Kate Middleton will be called Queen Catherine and hold the position of queen consort. She will be one of the few queens in history to have earned a college degree Marquand But because of the continued harassment and disagreements with others in the royal family, Meghan and Harry decided to step down from their royal obligations and begin a disassociation from the British monarchy.

In doing so, they gave up honorary positions, titles, and financial support. For Meghan, who had been born in the U. Prince Harry, however, had been "His Royal Highness" since he was born; by nature of his ancestry he was entitled to vast sums of money, property, and cultural-political positions such as Honorary Air Commandant, Commodore-in-Chief, and President of the Queen's Commonwealth Trust. Harry would also lose the military rank he had earned through almost ten years of military service, including two combat deployments to Afghanistan.

Would Megxit work for him? What gave him those honors in the first place? Its social hierarchy placed royalty at the top and commoners on the bottom. This was generally a closed system, with people born into positions of nobility.

Wealth was passed from generation to generation through primogeniture , a law stating that all property would be inherited by the firstborn son. If the family had no son, the land went to the next closest male relation. Women could not inherit property, and their social standing was primarily determined through marriage.

Commoners moved to cities, got jobs, and made better livings. Gradually, people found new opportunities to increase their wealth and power. The long-ago differences between nobility and commoners have blurred, and the modern class system in Britain is similar to that of the United States McKee Today, the royal family still commands wealth, power, and a great deal of attention.

If he abdicates chooses not to become king or dies, the position will go to Prince William, Prince Harry's older brother. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, meanwhile, moved to Los Angeles and signed a voiceover deal with Disney while also joining Netflix in a series production. They founded an organization focusing on non-profit activities and media ventures. Living in LA and working to some extent in entertainment, they will likely be considered a different type of royalty.

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My highlights. Table of contents. Answer Key. By the end of this section, you should be able to: Differentiate between open and closed stratification systems Distinguish between caste and class systems Explain why meritocracy is considered an ideal system of stratification.

Figure 9. These people make the decisions and earn the most money. The majority of Americans will never see the view from the top. People are sorted, or layered, into social categories. Neighborhoods often house people of the same social standing. Wealthy families do not typically live next door to poorer families, though this varies depending on the particular city and country. The people in the lowest caste suffered from extreme poverty and were shunned by society.