Social Stratification
Social Stratification
Social Stratification
Stratification
PRESENTED BY
TIU, ALTHEA DENISE
YEPES, ANTJE KATRIN
YEPES, KIANU
NARES, RAVEN
What is Stratification?
Stratification is a system or
formation of layers, classes,
or categories.
Social Stratification
Social stratification is a society’s categorization of people
into socioeconomic strata based upon their occupation
and income, wealth and social status, or derived power.
As such, stratification is the relative social position of
persons within a social group, category, geographic
region, or social unit (social or political).
HIGHER
RANK
OFFICIALS
MIDDLE
RANK
OFFICIALS
MIDDLE
CLASS
LOWER
RANK
OFFICIALS
LOWER
CLASS
Political Stratification
Political stratification is best understood as the extent to
which the inequalities in social statuses are influenced by,
political structures and processes (i.e., involving influence,
authority, or power). In this sense power is understood not
only in relation to achieving desired results, even against
opposing interest, but also in terms of the ability to frame
and set agendas.
The Social Desirables
WEALTH— is any tangible or intangible thing that makes a
person, family, or group better off. It includes properties such as
money, buildings, lands, farms, houses, cars, and other assets.
This provides the individual with more or less of the benefits which his
economy and society have to offer.
Example:
When an engineer changes his occupation from
engineer to teaching engineering, he has
horizontally moved from one occupational
category to another. But no change has taken
place in the system of social stratification.
Social Mobility: Types
VERTICAL MOBILITY
Example:
When a big businessman meets with losses in his
business and is declared bankrupt, he occupies a
low status. On the other hand, if a small
businessman with occupational skills of money
and manipulation becomes an industrialist he
occupies a higher position in the social ladder.
Social Mobility: Types
UPWARD MOBILITY
Example:
A person belonging to a lower caste and
occupying a lower position after winning
elections becomes a Minister and occupies a
higher position. He may not be able to change
his caste but with his economic and political
power he may move upward.
Social Mobility: Types
DOWNWARD MOBILITY
Example:
We can take the example of an individual, who is an Engineer
and occupies a respectable position in the society because of his
occupational position, education and may be caste. If he is
caught for accepting bribe or has committed a sin or has done
something wrong, he may be sentenced to jail or members of
his caste may outcaste him and as a criminal or as an outcaste
he may occupy a lower position vis-a-vis position he was
occupying earlier.
Social Mobility: Types
INTER-GENERATIONAL MOBILITY
Example:
People of lower caste or class may provide facilities to their
children to get higher education, training and skills. With
the help of these skills the younger generation may get
employment in higher position. If the father is a shoemaker
but his son after acquiring education becomes a clerk or a
doctor or an engineer, this would be called upward inter-
generational mobility.
Social Mobility: Types
INTER-GENERATIONAL MOBILITY
Another Example:
A family of Brahmins may be engaged on traditional
occupation of teaching and performing rituals but its
younger generation is neither intelligent nor follows the
family occupation. They become daily wagers then the
younger generation has downward inter-generational
mobility.
Social Mobility: Types
INTRA-GENERATIONAL MOBILITY
Example:
A person may start his career as a clerk. He acquires more
education and skills. Over a period of time, he becomes an IAS
officer or a Professor. In this way he moves up and occupies a
higher social position than the one with which he had started his
career.
His brother may have also started his career as a clerk but did not
occupy higher position in his life span and continued to remain at
the same position. Hence, within the same generation we find
that one brother changes his position and other brother does not.
Social Mobility: Types
OCCUPATIONAL MOBILITY
Example:
When a person or a group of persons move from
occupations of lower prestige to occupations of higher
prestige, this is called Upward Vertical Mobility. Similarly if
an individual or a group of individuals from occupations of
higher prestige take up occupations of lower prestige, then
this occupational mobility is called Downward Vertical
Mobility.
Social Mobility: Types
OCCUPATIONAL MOBILITY
Examples:
—Asians migrate to various European countries and the United States
of America. The pull factors attract the people because they do not
have those facilities at their place of residence and the new place
attracts them by providing these facilities, so that after acquiring new
skills and knowledge they could occupy better positions.
—People migrate from villages to cities because urban centres have
institutions of higher status as well as opportunities for jobs. People
come to urban areas to acquire education and skills and occupy higher
positions than their parents and brothers who continue to live in
villages.
Factors responsible for Social
Mobility
URBANIZATION
In the cities there are more people, they have formal relations.
People do not know each other intimately. Urban centres are
marked by anonymity. People are close to their friends and
relatives only. Urban settlements provide secrecy to individual’s
caste and background. Individual’s position is largely dependent
upon his education, occupation and income rather than his
background.
Gender inequality
Ethnic minorities
Social Capital
— consists of the economic resources garnered from human interactions.
The resources include those of tangible and non-tangible assets, such as
information, innovative ideas, and financial support.
—any benefit that is derived from the society or our interaction with the
members of our society.
Example:
• Your best friend’s mom might offer to put in the word for you at her
employer. This is good for you, but very unfair to other job-seekers.
Social Inequality
Access to social, political and symbolic capital
Political Capital
—refers to the goodwill, trust and influence that politicians earn or build
up with the public through the pursuit of policies that people like or
respect.
Example:
• An example of political capital is the ability of a chairman of a
committee to garner a members vote by reminding the member of the
favor of letting the member have a hearing on a bill which bill was
important to the member but which bill is of no interest to the
chairman.
Social Inequality
Access to social, political and symbolic capital
Symbolic Capital
—referred to as the resources available to an individual on the basis of
honor, prestige or recognition, and serves as value that one holds within a
culture.
Example:
• A war hero may have symbolic capital in the context of running for
political office.
Examples:
• Men’s dominance over women.
• LGBTQ+ community are being discriminated and given less
opportunities compared to men and women.
Social Inequality
Ethnic minorities
Example:
• An Igorot was termed as dirty, ugly and was not allowed to ride on a
bus just because he is an Igorot.
Social Inequality
Other minorities (like PWD)
Example:
• An amputee isn’t accepted in a job position though he nailed the exam
and interview just because the employer thinks he won’t be efficient
and won’t look good in the eyes of the customers.
Social Inequality
Global Inequality
Examples:
• Education is a fundamental human right. Yet, there are high disparities
between the access to education, as well as resources for education
throughout the world.