sociology social strat

• Absolute poverty


  Not being able to afford the basic things you need to survive in life e.g. food, clothing
• Achieved status


  Social positions are earned through personal talent, merit and effort, not fixed at birth
• Ascribed status


  Social positions/status are fixed at birth (due to class) and do not change over time
• Bourgeoisie


  The ruling class who owned the means of production and exploited the working class
• Culture of dependency


  The welfare system encourages people to stay on benefits rather than support themselves through work
• Glass ceiling


  An invisible barrier in employment that prevents some groups such as women or ethnic minorities from gaining promotions
• Life chances


  The opportunity/chance of achieving positive or negative outcomes (e.g. healthy/ill, rich/poor) as you progress throughout life
• Power


  The ability to get what you want, despite opposition
• Pressure group

  A group formed to influence government policy on a particular issue
• Relative poverty


  Not being able to afford to meet the general standard of living compared to most other people in their society
• Social exclusion


  The inability of some groups in society (e.g. the elderly, the working class) to play a full part in society/access the full benefits
• Social inequality


  The uneven distribution of resources (e.g. money or power) and opportunities
• Social mobility


  The ability to move up the social ladder
• Social stratification


  How society is structured in a hierarchy of layers based on factors such as age, gender
• Status


  The social standing or prestige someone is given by other members of society
• Underclass


  A group in society who have different attitudes and values to others. They experience long-term unemployment, tend to be reliant on benefits
• Wealth


  The ownership of assets (e.g. property, land, jewelry) and savings, shares etc.
• Welfare dependency


  When individuals are reliant on the government for income for a prolonged period of time
• Factors affecting life chances

  • Life expectancy
  • Income
  • Wealth
  • Employment
  • Education
  • Housing
  • Health
• How class affects life chances

  • Education: W/C - poorer GCSE grades
  • Income: W/C - earn less, minimum wage
  • Housing: W/C - rented, poor quality
  • Life expectancy: W/C – lower, poorer health
• How gender affects life chances

  • Education: Girls outperform boys
  • Employment: Women lower paid, less income/wealth, less likely to be in top jobs
  • Life expectancy: Women live longer
• How ethnicity affects life chances

  • Employment: 20% of black Caribbean men unemployed
  • Employment: 4% of CEOs are BAME
  • Education: Poorer GCSEs among some BAME groups and less likely to go to University
• How age affects life chances

  • Youth – lower income, higher unemployed
  • Older age – more at risk of poverty, ageism in the workplace, poorer access to health services
• Other factors affecting life chances include Disability, Sexuality, Religion/beliefs
• Functionalist theory


  • Social stratification is positive for society. Society is based on meritocracy and status is 'achieved' through hard work and effort.
  • Role allocation – top roles are filled by those who are able, ambitious and competitive – allows society to run smoothly.
• Marxist theory


  • Social stratification is negative for society. Society is based on conflict and status is 'ascribed' – is fixed at birth by class and cannot be changed.
  • Top roles are filled by the bourgeoisie and creates inequality.
• Feminist theory


  • Social stratification is negative for society. Society is based on conflict and patriarchy with the top roles being filled by men and women being lower in the hierarchy.
• Social classes


  • Working class - Unskilled/manual work, lack of formal education
  • Middle class - Professional jobs, formal education e.g. University
  • Upper - Aristocracy, elite education, 'titles' given
• NS-SEC


  Measures class by occupation (job), ignores wealth/status as a measure of class
• Marxists view on class

  Status is ascribed, working classes have poorer opportunities in education, employment, health, housing
• Functionalist view on class


  Status is achieved, society is based on meritocracy – equal chances to succeed
• Feminist view on class

  Gender has more of an influence on life chances than class
• There is still a divide between the working and middle classes, life chances are still poorer for the working class, low social mobility
• There may be less people working class due to changes in occupation, more working class going to university, the working class may be becoming more middle class
• Policies to reduce inequality include Equal pay act (1970), Sex Discrimination Act (1975), Equality Act (2010)
• Feminist view on gender

  Women have poorer life chances due to patriarchy
• Functionalist view on gender

  Society is based on meritocracy, improvements for women – more likely to attend University, pay gap has decreased, women have a higher life expectancy
• Reasons why gender affects life chances include glass ceiling/patriarchy in the workplace, gender socialisation – women may take expressive role/lower paid careers
• Policies to reduce inequality include Race relations act (1976), Equality act (2010)
• Ethnicity affecting life chances

  4% of CEOs are BAME, some groups have lower life expectancy, glass ceiling/lower paid jobs, poorer GCSE grades