Social stratification refers to the hierarchical classification of individuals on the basis of their class, gender, income levels, education level, ethnicity, race, and socioeconomic status, and this happens in every corner of the globe. Social stratification is quite often assessed based on the nature of inequalities of resources, and privileges are distributed based on the position that individuals hold in society (Flynn, 2021). The focal concern of social stratification stems from global stratification in which the arrangement of groups and society across the globe takes a hierarchical manner with strict conformity to the nature of resource distributions. However, the content presented in this paper presents a descriptive analysis of stratification systems by taking a close look at the class system, the gender system, and the caste system. The paper further outlines a comparative analysis of the three key social stratification systems identified in a bid to justify the essentiality of understanding social stratification.
Part 1
Descriptive Analysis of Stratification System
Class systems
Class systems refer to the grouping of individuals by taking a close look at their stratified social hierarchy, particularly on the basis of wealth, education level, and occupation. Besides, the class systems entail the initiative of identifying individuals and awarding such person positions in the context of their social hierarchy and economic status in society. The perception of prestige is accorded the requisite attention in an attempt to classify the social class that justifies the position of an individual in both social and economic settings. The class systems categorize individuals into the upper class, middle class, and the working class (Dickson & Hall-Lew, 2017). The objective understanding of class systems categorizes individuals on the basis of their level of production, while the subjective approach classifies individuals based on the context regarding the similarities of their common interests and desires, and this perception is quite often referred to as the class consciousness. The social categorization of individuals based on their class is assesses by the level of skills and professional competence other than the nature of their mindset with regards to acknowledging the essentiality of staying productive in society (Flynn, 2021). Individuals in social class systems have the ability to change position within the social stratification, and this is justified by upward mobility in which individual stands a chance to rise in the social class either through the application of skills or level of production.
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Gender system
Gender system refers to the social categorization of people in the society on the basis of their gender or biological differences, and this is quite often perceived by the concern that women usually hold lower social positions than their male counterparts in the society. Gender class tends to shape the opportunities and inequalities that are experienced by the members of the society based on biological differences. The capitalist system is considered as one of the economic principles that have always taken advantage of women in society, and this perception is reflected in identifying women as a cheap labor source in the informal economies (Dickson & Hall-Lew, 2017). Also, the employment sector that is not usually under strict scrutiny by governments and law enforcement department have always demeaned the position of women in the society by offering low wages, and by failing to offer additional health benefits to women. The perception of awarding women less pay as compared to men justifies the understanding of the gender gap in the employment sector. The gender systems affirm the perspective that women tend to focus on less prestigious jobs and employment opportunities that offer low wages as compared to men. However, in view of the recent development and the changes in women's role in the labor sector, the participation of women in the labor force tends to vary depending on social class (Weeks & Leavitt, 2017). The social mobility in gender systems is justified by the changes in women's roles in the labor force, either depending on their marital status or social class. Women in modern society stand a better chance to occupy a position with better economic opportunities than in the past centuries.
Caste system
Caste system refers to the closed social stratification systems that award humanity the opportunity to inherit their social positions with higher chances of experiencing little mobility. Caste systems have always been perceived as complex social stratification that entails the hereditary transmission of economic opportunities, social class identity, and the attainment of power. In this context, caste systems are considered closed stratification based on the reasoning that membership is attained through inheritance and birth, and an individual is expected to assume or occupy the position of power or wealth for life (Flynn, 2021). Besides, the caste systems are perceived as endogamous in which plays an essential role in justifying the transfer of power and wealth, and the offspring are intended to automatically gain ownership of their parents' caste. The caste system is considered a closes stratification system based on the fact that wealth is inherited, and therefore there is no social mobility.
Part 2
Descriptive Analysis of Stratification Differences
Descriptive Analysis of Social Class Systems Based On Education Level
Figure 1 : Understanding the social class systems in the context of household earnings and education level (Kakol et al., 2017)
The table below outlines the fact that social class systems could be determined by the education level of a person. In this context, people who are highly educated tend to earn more and can comfortably rent or live in a home that is more expensive to people with a lower level of education. The patterns seen in the analysis presented above dwell on the fact that as the education level of a person takes an upward shift, the income level also rises (Kakol et al., 2017). As a result, it would be imperative to acknowledge the fact that upward social mobility is determined by the education level of a person rather than the productive potential of an individual. The graph outlines the social stratification between people of the highest academic qualification with the lowest level of professional expertise. As a result, it would worth noting to affirm that personalities with doctorate degrees enjoy a sense of prestige in comparison to people with the least academic qualifications and achievements in a social setting.
The findings of this study affirm that the effort to pursue education to the highest level of academic achievements gives an individual the requisite opportunity to shift from the working class to the upper class, and this comes out as a plausible explanation. People with the highest level of academic achievement are the most advantaged, while persons with the least academic achievement are the most disadvantaged based on the data presented in the graph (Dickson & Hall-Lew, 2017). The practical step that needs to be considered to promote equality of conditions and opportunity is to establish a theoretical platform of offering quality education to all categories of humanity in a bid to give everyone a chance to climb the social ladder.
Descriptive Analysis of Average Earning Of both Men and Women by Education Level
Figure 2 : Average Earnings of full-time based on education and gender differences (Kakol et al., 2017)
The graph presented above outlines the fact that women have always left out with regards to the provisions of economic and job opportunities that offer higher income as compared to men. The pattern that is captured in the graph above outlines that gender systems play an essential role in defining the social positions of men and women in society (Kakol et al., 2017). For instance, men tend to have a higher income as compared to women in the same line of professions. The data presented in the figure above outlines the reasoning that the only justification for women to climb the social ladder and receive a higher income is to focus on the attainment of higher education. Men appear to be the most advantaged based on the existing social conditions, and this perception outlines the gender gap in the employment sector (Weeks & Leavitt, 2017). Women appear to be the most disadvantaged based on the nature of how they are categorized in the social class. The most plausible explanation based on the data presented in the graph is that women need to take advantage of the changes in the gender roles in the labor force and pursue higher education for reasons of becoming equally competitive as men. The practical step that needs to be considered to promote equality of conditions and opportunity is to redefine the structure of the labor industry by giving both men and women opportunities irrespective of their biological differences.
Conclusion
Social stratification comes out as the epitome of classifying and categorizing groups and societies in every corner of the globe with strict conformity to the nature of resource distributions. The caste system comes out as a closed social stratification based on the reasoning that wealth and power are inherited, and there is no mobility between and amongst groups of individuals. The class system perceives social stratification by acknowledging the relevance of categorizing individuals on the basis of their earnings, education level, and socioeconomic status in society (Kakol et al., 2017). The gender system outlines the fact that women are the most disadvantaged group based on the reasoning that their interests have always been demeaned in society by assuming job positions with low wages. By and large, it is imperative to affirm the fact that government needs to revisit the perception of class and gender social classes by setting up the foundation for attaining quality education in a bid to enable women to become equally competitive as their male counterparts.
References
Dickson, V., & Hall-Lew, L. (2017). Class, gender, and rhoticity: The social stratification of non-prevocalic/r/in edinburgh speech. Journal of English Linguistics , 45 (3), 229-259.
Flynn, S. (2021). Trajectories of social justice within social stratification: towards a Bourdieusian reading of social class for social workers. Critical and Radical Social Work .
Kakol, M., Nielek, R., & Wierzbicki, A. (2017). Precious Time: Understanding Social Stratification in the Knowledge Society Through Time Allocation. arXiv preprint arXiv:1706.00968 .
Weeks, M., & Leavitt, P. A. (2017). Using occupational titles to convey an individual's location in social stratification dimensions. Basic and Applied Social Psychology , 39 (6), 342-357.
