Social Stratification, Social
Class, and Ethnicity
Social Stratification
Ranking of individuals or categories of
people on the basis of unequal access to
scare resources and social rewards.
* Division of people into categories, ranks
or classes.
 Ascribed status – ancestry, race, age, physical
appearance, and gender.
 Achieved status – education or occupation
Other factors that determine rank or position in
society include talent and effort.
Four Basic Principles of
Social Stratification:
It is a characteristic of society, not
simply a reflection of individual
differences.
It persists over generations.
It is universal but variable.
It involves not just inequality but beliefs.
Cultural beliefs serve to
justify social stratification.
That is part of the
reason why it persists.
 Social inequality – the unequal sharing of scare
resources and social rewards.
Inequality in the United States
 Nearly
1 in 6 children in the U.S. live
poverty:
30% of African American children
29% of Hispanic children
12% of Asian American children
9.4% of White non-Hispanic children
Inequality in the United States
15%
of the U.S. population has no health
insurance.
The average cost of a day’s stay in the
hospital is $1, 217—two weeks’ pay for the
average worker
Inequality in the United States
 1% of the U.S. population controls 38% of the
total wealth in the nation.
 The bottom 20% owe more than they own.
 CEOs of major companies earn an average of
$13.1 million dollars per year.
 Workers earning the minimum wage make
$15,080 per year, if they work 40 hours a
week for 52 weeks per year and hold only one
job.
Types of Stratification Systems
Closed – movement between status levels is
impossible. A person assigned a status at birth
and remains at that level throughout life.
Open – movement between status levels is
possible. The ease of movement depends on the
degree of openness in the system.
Characteristics of
Caste and Class Systems
Caste System:
 Closed and lifelong
 Immobility and
inherited status
 Based on specific
occupations
 Ascribed status
Class System:
 Open and mobile
 Reward is
determined by
achieved status
 Property, prestige,
and power are
important
(Max Weber)
Caste System
 In some countries such as India, people still live under a
caste system socially.
 Caste systems have traditionally forbidden the practice
of exogamy, marriage outside one’s social category.
 Instead, caste systems generally practice endogamy.
Endogamy is marriage within one’s own social category.
Dimensions of Social Stratification
 social
class – grouping of people with similar levels
of wealth (property), power, and prestige.
 Wealth
(property) – made up of assets (value of
everything one owns) and income.
Dimensions of Social Stratification

power – the ability to control the behavior of others,
with or without their consent
based on force, possession of special skills,
knowledge, social status, personal characteristics,
custom/tradition

prestige – respect, honor, recognition, or courtesy an
individual receives from other members of society
based on income, occupation , education, family,
residences, possessions, club memberships
Section 2: The American Class System
The American Class System
 open
system
 law forbids discrimination based on ascribed
characteristics such as race or gender
 in
theory, all have equal access to resources
 rate
of social mobility is not equal for all
segments of society
Median Income by Race and Household
Status
Determining Social Class
 reputational
method – individuals are asked
to rank other community members based on
what they know of their character and
lifestyle
 subjective method – individuals are asked to
determine their own social rank
 objective method – sociologists define social
class by income, occupation, and education
Section 2: The American Class System
Social Classes in the United States
 1%
upper class
 14% upper-middle class
 30% lower-middle class
 30% working class
 22% working poor
 3% underclass
major difference in classes is income, lifestyle,
beliefs
Section 2: The American Class System
The American Class System
 Upper
Class – attend prestigious universities;
owners of large businesses, investors, heirs to family
fortunes, top business executives; 1 percent of
population
 Upper Middle Class – attend college or university,
business executives, professionals; 14 percent of
population
 Lower Middle Class – high school, some college;
lower-level managers skilled craft workers,
supervisors; 30 percent of population
Section 2: The American Class System
The American Class System
 Working
Class – high school education; factory
workers, clerical workers, lower level
salespeople, some craft-workers; 30 percent of
population
 Working Poor – some high school; laborers,
service workers; 22 percent of population
 Underclass – some high school; undesirable,
low-paying jobs, unemployed, on welfare; 3
percent of population
Section 2: The American Class System
Americans believe that people who possess enough
ability and motivation will rise to the top.
Motivations include finances, status, prestige.
Such values influence Americans to try to do better
financially than their parents and to help their
children do the same.
These values and motivations keep the American
system open and mobile.
Defining Social Mobility

Social mobility is a person’s movement over time
from one class to another.
 Social mobility can be up or down, although the
American dream emphasizes upward movement.
 Mobility can also be either inter-generational,
occurring between generations; or
intra-generational, occurring within a generation.
Social Mobility

Mobility is a collective effort that involves kin and
sometimes community.
 Upward Mobility
People who are upwardly mobile are often
expected to distance themselves from their
origins.
 Downward Mobility
As income distribution is becoming more skewed
toward the top, many in the middle class are
experiencing mobility downward.
Poverty Among the Old
and Young
Poverty in the U.S.
Who are the Poor?
 34.6
million poor people in the U.S.
 The poor:
31% of Native Americans
24% of African Americans
22% of Hispanics
10% of Asians and Pacific Islanders
10% of Whites
Section 3: Poverty
Age—Children have the largest percentage in poverty; 25%
of Americans are under 18, but 35% of the poor are
children; three times more African American and Hispanic
children are poor than white children.
Race and Ethnicity—African Americans and Hispanics are
more than twice as likely as white Americans to be poor.
Gender—Women are the largest segment (57%); femaleheaded households account for about half of all poor
families; 34% of African American and Hispanic femaleheaded households are poor, as compared to only 20% of
white female-headed households.
The effects of Poverty
Poor Americans are at a serious disadvantage in health
and life expectancy.
Health – heart disease, diabetes, cancer, arthritis, and
pneumonia are highest amongst those living in poverty.
Life expectancy – average number of years a person born
is expected to live.
Two reasons – inadequate nutrition and medical
care
Patterns of Behavior
 Divorce rates are higher among low-income families.
 Poor Americans are more likely to be arrested,
convicted, and sent to prison for crimes.
 Poor people are more likely to bet the victims of crime.
Explanations of Poverty
 Culture
of poverty - poverty is a way of life
that is transferred from generation to
generation.
 Structural
causes of poverty - poverty is
caused by economic and social
transformations taking place in the U.S.
Arguments Against
“The Culture of Poverty”
 Fewer
than 5% of the poor are chronically
poor.
 41% of the able-bodied poor work.
 The pattern of “welfare cycling” is
promoted by wages too low to support a
family.
Section 3: Poverty
Government attempts to reduce inequality through
various social-welfare programs using two
approaches:
Transfer Payments—redistribution of money
among various segments of society; major
programs include Supplemental Security
Income (SSI) and Temporary Assistance for
Needy Families (TANF)
Subsidies—transfer goods and services rather
than cash; include the Food Stamp program,
housing, school lunches, and Medicaid
Who are the Homeless?
 Battered
women
 Elderly
 Disabled
 Mentally
Ill (20-25%)
 Veterans
 AIDS victims
Who are the Homeless?
A
survey of 27 cities found that the
homeless population is:
50% African American
35% White
12% Hispanic
2% Native American
1% Asian
Reasons for Homelessness
 Unemployment
and/or eviction
 Reductions in federal support for
affordable housing
 Eroding work opportunities
 Inadequate housing for low-income
people
Reasons for Homelessness
 Inadequate
health care
 Domestic violence
 Addiction