Forms of Social Stratification (WJEC Eduqas GCSE Sociology): Revision Note

Social stratification & inequality

• Social stratification describes how society is structured into a hierarchy of unequal layers, or strata

• Each layer represents a group with different amounts of power, wealth and status

• Sociologists often compare society to a pyramid:

  • In a pyramid, the smallest, most powerful group is at the top, and the largest, least powerful group is at the bottom

Social inequality

• Social inequality refers to the uneven distribution of:

  • resources, such as money and power

  • opportunities (or life chances) related to, e.g. education or employment

• It includes differences in:

  • wealth – ownership of assets like property, land or savings

  • income – money earned from wages or benefits

  • status – a person’s social standing, or respect in society

  • power – the ability to influence others or make decisions

• Sociologists study:

  • the extent of inequality in society

  • why some people have more opportunities than others

  • how inequality is linked to social class, gender, ethnicity and age

Social class

• In the UK today, the main form of stratification is social class

  • A person’s class is often linked to their job, income and education

• Most sociologists divide society into upper class, middle class and working class

  • Some sociologists believe Britain is a meritocracy — a society where people can achieve success through hard work and ability rather than background

  • Others disagree, arguing that opportunities are still unequal

Different forms of social stratification

• Stratification systems differ depending on whether a person's status is ascribed or achieved

  • Ascribed status: social position is fixed at birth and is unchanging over time, such as being born into the royal family

  • Achieved status: social position is earned based on personal talent or merit, such as getting all 9s in your GCSEs

• Stratification systems also differ according to how open and closed they are, i.e., how easily social mobility can occur

  • Open system: people can move up or down the social hierarchy, e.g., the class system in the UK

  • Closed system: movement is not possible, e.g., caste, slavery, apartheid, feudal systems

Social mobility

• Social mobility refers to the movement of individuals or groups up or down the social hierarchy

  • Upward mobility: moving to a higher social class or gaining higher status, e.g., getting a better job or earning a university degree

  • Downward mobility: moving to a lower class or losing status, e.g., being made redundant or experiencing long-term unemployment

• There is ongoing debate about whether Britain is truly a meritocracy

Examples of stratification systems

Slavery

• In systems such as those of Ancient Greece, or 19th-century America, slaves were owned as property

• Children of slaves were born into slavery, so the system was:

  • ascribed

  • closed

• Slavery was based on race and power

• Even after slavery ended, racial inequality continued through segregation laws in the USA until 1964

Feudalism

• The feudal system operated in medieval Europe as a form of stratification based on land ownership

• Everybody in the community pledged loyalty to the king, whose power was regarded as God-given

• Each group owed loyalty and service to the one above

• People were born into their position and could not move up the hierarchy; the system was:

  • ascribed

  • closed

• It was unthinkable for people from different estates or social classes to get married

The caste system in traditional India

• The caste system in India, linked to the Hindu religion, is among the world's oldest surviving forms of social stratification

• A person’s caste is:

  • ascribed at birth

  • cannot change (closed), so there is no social mobility

• Each caste has its own status and traditional jobs

• Those at the bottom (the “untouchables”) face severe discrimination

• The caste system is illegal in India today as the Indian Constitution (1950) abolished "untouchability" and banned all forms of caste-based discrimination

• However, the system does still exist, as caste remains deeply rooted in cultural traditions and continues to influence marriage, politics, and social status, especially in rural areas

Apartheid

• Apartheid in South Africa (1948–1994) was based on a government policy of racial segregation

• Society was divided by ethnicity — white people had more rights and opportunities than black people

• A person’s position was ascribed at birth, so the system was closed

• Apartheid affected all areas of life — jobs, housing, schools and marriage