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Johnson 1 SOC-102 10 November 2019 Social Stratification Since the beginning of time, society has been divided into groups. Grouping has been around for centuries whether it was division by race, religion, class, gender, ethnicity, age, income, where you work, where you’re from, or basically anything. The group are placed within is determined by the current society and economy. One can be placed in multiple different groups depending on if the group is of small or large scale. There are millions of statistics that can be easily accessed online about the types of groups people are classified into. The different types within one broad group can be compared such as gender: men and women can be compared, and they can also be narrowed it down to a smaller, more specific category as well. This grouping of people into larger groups is known as social stratification. Part one Within social stratification there are systems, or groups, which include (but are not limited to): slavery, caste, estate, and social class. Then, for each system there is a level of mobility which is either open or closed. Some groups are hereditary meaning they are born into it and have no choice of changing their status, others are attained through their choices in life and are always able to change their rank. “Social stratification, also referred to as stratification, is the way in which a society organizes itself so that individuals know their place or rank, also called their social position, in society” (Larkin). Slavery, Caste, and Social Class are three systems of social stratification. Slavery was legal around the world for a large amount of time, and in the United states mainly in the late 1700’s and early 1800’s. Slaves were treated like animals and forced to work and live in poor conditions. “Slavery is the most extreme form of legal or condoned social inequality. In this

Johnson 2 system, a person can be enslaved by hereditary or military conquest. The enslaved person is the property of other people. The result is that the owner has the right to treat the enslaved individual in any manner the owner desires.” (Larkin). The caste system is one where everything in life is assigned to every individual. Jobs, spouses, friends, etc. are given and are expected to be followed. In the textbook, Dr. Larkin explains the Caste system in India, “India has four castes: priests—Brahman, warriors—Kshatriya, merchants—Vaishya, and artisans/farmers—Shudra. A final category, the untouchables—Dalit, is considered so lowly that its members are not even considered to have a place in the stratification system (Schaefer, 2009; Macionis, 2010). Each caste has strict boundaries. Members are expected to marry within their caste, work at jobs considered appropriate for those in their caste and avoid mixing socially with members of other castes” Finally, there is the social class system. Unlike the previous two, this group is determined by the characteristics and life choices of an individual. They choose their rank by choosing how far to take their education, what job they want to pursue, the relationships they wish to have, and other everyday life choices that must be made. “... class systems maintain certain stable hierarchies and class divisions. The class system can be marked by unequal access to goods, services, and life options for its members (Domhoff, 2006)” (Larkin). This system is the most flexible in terms of a person overseeing themselves and making their own choices rather than society planning out their life for them. “Social mobility is the ability to move up or down within a social stratification hierarchy” (Larkin). Slavery is a closed system of mobility because the slaves do not have a choice of whether they want to be a slave or not. They did not get to choose to work for free and be tortured for it. They did not get to choose to leave. They were chosen and treated as property and many never got to leave. The caste system is also closed in terms of mobility because the

Johnson 3 individuals do not get to choose what caste they are a part of. Their rank is chosen for them based off their family, and they are only allowed to associate with people within their same caste. This creates limited freedom and mobility. The social class system has the most mobility and is an open system because the individuals get to make their own choices and their rank is determined upon those choices. Each system has a sorting process in which determines how an individual is placed into a specific group, it is called the organizing principle. Slavery’s organizing principle is by social category. The category could be race, religion, gender, ethnicity, tribe, etc. The caste system’s organizing principle is hereditary position, so whatever your family’s position is will be yours as well. Lastly, the class system’s organizing principle is economic position so it could be the person’s job and how much money they make, which is their socioeconomic status. In conclusion, social stratification is the way in which a society organizes itself so that individuals know their place or rank. Is consists of systems which narrow down a broad society into smaller, more defined groups. Slavery is a closed system with no mobility, and it is determined by social category. Caste is also a closed system with little mobility and is determined by heredity. Social class is an open and mobile system and is determined by economic position. Part Two The groups most often compared today is by gender. Males are often the dominant leaders in bureaucracies, they are higher paid compared to women and are said to be more respected and taken seriously. Statistics can prove which gender and race makes the most money and holds the most socioeconomic power.

Johnson 4 Although men are often higher paid that women, more women went to college and attained a bachelor's degree than men. In 2016, 22% of Hispanic women ages 25-29 had a bachelor’s degree, compared to 16% of Hispanic men. In this case, Hispanic women are of a higher class than Hispanic men because there are more women with a higher education. “While poor women are outpacing poor men, it is important to note that in the big picture, poor women are nevertheless far behind their richer counterparts. About 70 percent of women from a high socioeconomic status who were high school sophomores in 2002 had gotten bachelor’s degrees by 2013, compared to 17.6 percent of women from low socioeconomic status” (Semuels). In 2017 white women made $46,513 on average, 77% of white men’s earnings. This means that men made an average of $57,210. Although this may seem high, white people as a race did not make the most money in that year. Asian women made the highest amount for females with an average of $51,378, in 2017- more than any other race. Asian men on the other hand made the most out of everyone with an average of $59,033 so women still only made 85.1% of men’s earnings. This means that Asian men have the most power by socioeconomic status, according to statistics. Hispanic women have a higher education rate than Hispanic men, so they have a higher status than the men. Although many might think that white men would make the most amount of money, it was Asian men, meaning they hold the most power and have the highest socioeconomic status. They have achieved this through the system of social class.

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Works Cited Earnings and Earnings Ratios, Women's Bureau - U.S. Department of Labor. (2019). Retrieved 5 November 2019, from https://www.dol.gov/wb/stats/NEWSTATS/facts/earn_earnings_ ratio.htm Larkin, T. (2019). Our Social World: An Introduction to Sociology. Retrieved 10 November 2019, from https://lc.gcumedia.com/soc102/our-social-world-an-introduction-tosociology/v1.1/#/chapter/7 Semuels, A. (2019). Poor Girls Are Leaving Their Brothers Behind. Retrieved 11 November 2019, from https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2017/11/gender-educationgap/546677/...