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1 Social Stratification and Structural Inequality Student Name University Course Professor Name Date

2 Social Stratification and Structural Inequality In every society today, social stratification and inequality exist, and it is human nature to categorize people based on classes whether it is gender, race, religion, ethnicity, or jobs. By definitions of these categories, it puts people in statuses or positions within a society or group that certainly establish unequal opportunities for individuals. However, individuals want to believe that equal opportunities imply to everybody, it is not often the case in some groups. Therefore, the idea of social stratification entails a system where groups of people are separated into layers based on their relative power, property, and prestige (Doob, 2019). It offers social materials that become the foundation for social positioning as social stratification creates social differentiation. However, structural inequality involves a system of privileges developed by organizations and institutions in an economy; for example, the institutions comprise the law, government policies, education, healthcare, business practices, and the media (Grusky, 2019). The essay explores social stratification and structural inequality as topics within all facets of society; thus, they play a critical role in the smooth running of a society. Social Stratification Contributes to Structural Inequality in Society Social stratification seldom offers a clerical account of the events engaged in the creation of a real structural and functional unit regarded to be productive in a societal economy. Conventionally, the stratification concept has been perceived crudely, even though in the modern sociological world, it is well-considered as per the Marxian model (Doob, 2019). The system creates a sense of inequality within a society. Currently, the social stratification concept is unavoidable in public moral debate, political, and ideological. The categorization of society into many ranks leads to social disparity and structural inequality. Modern societies experience inequality because of culturally accepted and legalized forms of

3 prejudice and discrimination. These restrict people’s freedom and subject some people to greater risk. In addition, structural inequality may be formed even in the free market economy in which the policies and laws passed develop a competitive edge for a specific group of individuals, while similarly creating a disadvantage for others (Gibson-Davis & Hill, 2021). It negatively affects society by worsening interpersonal correlations, supporting social class hatred, breaching social justice and human rights, and undermining development. Furthermore, stratification leads to inequality as opportunities, privileges, and resources are distributed as per people’s positions in a social hierarchy. Hence, social stratification implies structured inequalities between various groups of people. Structural inequalities in societies occur and are supported by social policies, and unequal associations in rights, societal functions, roles, opportunities, and decisions (Goubin & Hooghe, 2020). For instance, laws and policies may potentially create structural types of inequality. Social stratification as per the conflict theory, benefits the powerful and wealthy at the expense of the disadvantaged in society. Hence, it develops a system of losers and winners that is sustained by those in power (Lambert & Griffiths, 2018). The individuals who form the losers fail to get a fair opportunity to compete; therefore are stuck at the bottom. Categories of Social Stratification Social class may be explained as classifying people based on their similar socioeconomic status position. It is where material resources categorize people as upper, middle, lower, and working class. Hence, socioeconomic status is attained by the wealth a person has accumulated for him/herself. In addition, race involves a group of people who share similar unique physical features. Most typically, the color of people is applied to define race, although other traits may be employed such as hair texture. Gender is also a kind of social stratification that mainly revolves around femininity and masculinity (Obeng-Odoom,

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4 2020). Nonetheless, contemporary society looks for further inclusion of such classifications as neuter and common to comprise people who do not categorize as male or female. Forms of Structural Inequality and Illustrations Subsequently, the systems of social stratification determine social rank according to aspects such as education, healthcare, occupation, and income. Despite structural inequality and social stratification being among the most significant concept in society, they are different. There are six primary types of structural inequality. These include education, housing, race, healthcare, gender, and media within society. They form powerful agents of socializing that inform people what they can accomplish in society. Inequality thus becomes structural as policies and laws inhibit specific groups of persons from attaining the resources needed to enhance their lives. For example, students emanating from low-income households often get an education that is of poor quality as compared to students from wealthier households or areas. It guides students in various careers as underprivileged children should attend public schools whereas rich children may attend private schools (Wu, 2019). It is noted that this leads women, girls, and those underprivileged groups towards lesser lucrative job opportunities in society. Further, housing in society as designed by municipal leaders may lead to systemic segregation via zoning. Municipal leaders zone for facilities and amenities such as large lots ad green spaces in wealthy areas. They permit halfway houses and apartment complexes in lower-income regions and over time, the resolutions lead to neighborhoods on the worse side of life. In addition, healthcare inequality is related to income disparity, because those having better jobs have access to quality healthcare services. The US healthcare system depends on private health insurance coverage. Approximately 44 million US citizens had no health insurance leading up to Affordable Care Act; however, by 2017, this number declined to close

5 to 27 million (Lipset, 2021). Despite the numbers decreasing, there remain millions of Americans lacking health insurance. Moreover, racial inequality originates in US slavery, a process that legally permitted African Americans to be subjected to non-human property. Racial housing gaps exist in the US as racial inequality in neighborhoods persists. Non-white households with income generation of more than $75,000 are more susceptible to residing in poor communities than white households with earnings below $40,000 (Amadeo, 2018). Nonetheless, the underprivileged neighborhoods have low-quality schools and are less safe than those in wealthy areas. In terms of gender, managers are believed to offer women lesser training and fewer challenging roles than men. In addition, women managers are not offered as many high stake responsibilities required for promotions (Lipset, 2021). Wealthy people tend to have greater access than underprivileged people to political advertisements. Solutions to Structural Inequality in Society The key solution to structural inequalities should be addressing the structures that created them. For instance, it is inadequate to assist a person move from one city to another. The housing zoning that formed both communities needs to be altered. If society has enough resources, it might include equity in the education system and universal healthcare. The investment in human resources would bring everybody up to basic standards to better improve welfare benefits, offering universal basic income or increasing the minimum wage (Amadeo, 2018). It is noted that societies have performed so have minimized reliance on welfare and reduce poverty. Conclusion Social stratification is emerging as a contentious subject, mostly as it is connected to such vices as inequality, racism, and discrimination. Some categories of stratification comprise class, race, gender, and age. In addition, structural inequality illustrates inequalities

6 in resources, wealth, and other aspects that emanate from discriminatory and prejudicial practices of organizations and institutions like educational, legal, healthcare, business, and government systems. The solution to structural inequalities is to address the factor that caused them.

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7 References Amadeo, K. (2018, September 5). What is structural inequality? https://www.thebalancemoney.com/structural-inequality-facts-types-causes- solution-4174727 Doob, C. B. (2019). In Marx’s wake: Theories of social stratification and social inequality. Social Inequality and Social Stratification in US Society , 1 (3), 30-59. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429279331-2 Gibson-Davis, & Hill. (2021). Childhood wealth inequality in the United States: Implications for social stratification and well-being. RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences , 7 (3), 1. https://doi.org/10.7758/rsf.2021.7.3.01 Goubin, S., & Hooghe, M. (2020). The effect of inequality on the relation between socioeconomic stratification and political trust in Europe. Social Justice Research , 33 (2), 219-247. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11211-020-00350-z Grusky, D. (2019). Social stratification, class, race, and gender in sociological perspective, Second Edition . Routledge. Lambert, P., & Griffiths, D. (2018). Social inequalities and occupational stratification: Methods and concepts in the analysis of social distance . Springer. Lipset, D. (2021). Comedy and other Hollywood tropes of American social stratification (1990–2011). Visual Anthropology , 34 (5), 405-422. https://doi.org/10.1080/08949468.2021.1984806 Obeng-Odoom, F. (2020). Property, institutions, and social stratification in Africa . Cambridge University Press.

8 Wu, X. (2019). Inequality and social stratification in Postsocialist China. Annual Review of Sociology , 45 (1), 363-382. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-soc-073018-022516

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