Social Stratification What is Social Stratification? "All the animals are equal here, but some are more equal than others

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Social Stratification What is Social Stratification? "All the animals are equal here, but some are more equal than others." (George Orwell, Animal Farm) "The top 10% of Canadian wealthy families control 60% of Canada's wealth." "The poorest 10% of Canadians have more debt than assets - A negative net wealth". 35% of kids in Canada live in poverty. Social Inequality • Study of social inequality is a longstanding sociological tradition • Social inequality is the long-term existence of significant differences in access to goods and services among social groups • Social inequality is a function of many factors, including ethnicity, "race," gender Social Stratification A system in which people are divided into layers according to their relative power, property and prestige and by social attributes such as age, gender, ethnicity, etc. • How are you affected by this layering? • The ranking of people and social groups leads to social hierarchy. • Society's hierarchical ranking of people into social classes leads to inequality. Five major systems of stratification: • Slavery: Ownership of people who are treated as property. • Caste: A social system based on custom and religion. • Clan: Group membership in agrarian societies. • The Estate: A Feudal economic and social system. • Class: A social system based on capitalism in industrial societies. Historical Approaches to the Study of Social Class • A central term when talking about social inequality is class, popularized by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels (1888) • Class is relational - Class reflects one's relation to the means of production, or the resources needed to produce goods - The means of production are capital: • Funds and properties needed for large-scale manufacturing and trading Historical Approaches to the Study of Social Class • Marx identified two main classes or camps - Bourgeoisie: collective of capitalists who own the means of production - Proletariat: class of workers who work for those who own the means of production • Marx further identified sub-classes - Petty bourgeoisie: small-time owners with little capital - Lumpenproletariat: small-time criminals, beggars, unemployed Class as a Social Identity • According to Marx, class has a corporate (or organic) identity as a real social group • Each class has a shared sense of common purpose, rooted in class consciousness: - An awareness of what is in the best interests of one's class • The bourgeoisie always possesses class consciousness • The workers had false consciousness, which is the belief that something is in one's best interests when it is not • Stratification involves patterns of structural inequality that are associated with memberships in different social groups and the ideologies that support inequality. • Stratification is affected by the economic and social structure of a society and its position in a global system of inequality. • Systems of stratification differ in their degree of social mobility: the movement of people or groups between the stratification layers. Some systems are "closed" and other are "open". Ascribed or achieved status define the membership in the various strata or layers of society. Principles of Social Stratification 1. Redistribution of material & social rewards on the basis of meritocracy 2. Social mobility exists but mostly stable over time - Intergenerational mobility (movement over generations) - Intragenerational mobility (movement throughout one's lifetime) 3. Present in all known human societies, but varies in how it is expressed 4. Recognized as fair and just by most Occupational Prestige • the social value of an occupation • Higher wage, higher prestige • Intersects with gender and minority status • Level of education • Autonomy and independence Theoretical Approaches to Stratification: • Structural-Functionalist Approach Social inequality is universal, the social patterns within each society are functional for the society and promote stability. Davis-Moore Thesis (1945) Social roles and positions within society must be filled by the most qualified; some of these are more important than others; to motivate the most qualified, society provides incentives, monetary rewards (The American Dream). The Trickle-Down Theory: everyone in society benefits when the rich generate wealth. Criticism: Social status is often hereditary, substantial discrimination occurs, serves mainly the elite Conflict Approach: Society is based on competition and struggle between groups and individuals over scarce resources. Power defines social relations: the powerful promote their interests and maintain social control. According to Marx, stratification is based on economic relations and the class structure of the capitalist system. "The ideas of the ruling class are in every epoch the ruling ideas". Max Weber Agreed with Marx (capitalism leads to class conflict) Critiqued Marx's sole focus on economic production • Social class is multidimensional: based on class, status groups (composed of people who share similar social status, lifestyle, worldviews etc.) and parties (political associations of people with power). Hegemony (Gramsci) • Developed the concept in his Prison Notebooks. • Based on non-coercive methods of maintaining power: ideological control and manipulation. • In order to maintain power, any regime needs the support of the masses. • Generating consent: Ideology that convinces the masses to adopt the world-view of the dominant culture. • Civil society plays a role in establishing consent. • The rise of consumer society and materialism as a means of control Feminist Theory: In every society of the world, gender is a basis for social stratification. Apparently such distinctions always favour males. In every society of the world men's earnings are higher than women's. Most of the world's illiterate are female. Symbolic Interaction: Interested in how people use status symbols and how they interpret and construct their understanding of social class and class inequality. T. Veblen (1892): People use Conspicuous Consumption to appear that they belong to a higher class. Social class in Canada is based upon many factors including wealth, income, education, and even the social standing of one's family. • The Upper Class: The Elite, comprised of 1% of Canadian society, "super, old rich" (The Thomson's, Weston's). Most have inherited wealth, operate on national and international levels. Live in elite communities, share life-styles and social membership in exclusive clubs. Very few visible minorities. • The Upper-Middle Class: Educated professionals, entrepreneurs, corporate managers. The "New rich". Live in suburbs and more ethnically diverse. • The Lower-Middle Class: Some high education, small business owners, lower-level management, unionized jobs. More ethnically diverse. The middle class is comprised of about 30% of the population. • The Working Class: includes unskilled and semi-skilled jobs, blue collar workers with high school education. Lower incomes, less secure jobs that are closely supervised. Including Pink Collar jobs (beauty, sales, daycare workers). This group constitutes 30% of Canadian population. • The Working Poor: Labourers, unskilled, temporary, seasonal jobs, which pay minimum wages. Cleaning jobs, nurse-aid, restaurant servers. This group constitutes about 30% of Canadians and populated by recent visible-minority immigrants, aboriginals, and single mothers. • The Underclass: Poor, unemployed, partly employed, old and disabled, rely on welfare, food banks. About 8% of Canadians. Canada's "1 per cent" • The 2011 Occupy movement raised awareness about income disparities in Canada - 1% of the world's population controls 99% of the world's wealth • In only three days, Canada's top 100 CEOs earn as much as the average Canadian in a year • In 1995, the highest paid CEO's salary was 85 times that of the average Canadian. By 2010 it was 189 times as high - That suggests inequality in Canada is increasing Poverty and Excess • One indicator of inequality in Canada is the existence and use of food banks: - Non-profit organizations that collect, store, and distribute food free of charge • According to Food Banks Canada's Hunger Account - Food bank use increased by 26% between 2008 and 2015 - The increase was particular noticeable in Alberta - In 2015, 55% of food bank users were families • 23% single-parent families; 21% two-parent families; 11% without children - In 2015, 36% of food bank users were children Social Inequality and Education • Postsecondary education can be a major avenue for social mobility - If post-secondary education becomes too expensive for low-income families, then avenues for upward mobility are blocked - E.g., tuition fees for university education rose steadily since the 1990s, but there are regional differences Social Inequality and Education Gender and Race in the Class System: • Women were assumed to have no independent class position. They were assigned the class of their fathers and husbands. • Feminists stressed the linkages between gender, race and class. Life chances are constrained by these social constructs. • The Feminization of Poverty: women disproportionately represented: about 60% of adults living in poverty in Canada are women. Poor single mothers are at risk more than others. • The Racialized Poor: visible minorities disproportionately represented: aboriginals, recent immigrants share higher rates of poverty. • Double Oppression: a combined effect. Within any class women have less access to power, status, and wealth.

SCL100 Social Inequality Recording Transcript Slide 3-4: There is a difference between social stratification and social inequality: social stratification is based on the ranking of various groups into social classes, creating social layers that are hierarchical. This system creates inequality between various groups in terms of their opportunities and access to various resources in society. Slide 5, 9: The first 4 systems are "closed" in the sense that historically, it was impossible to change your position within these systems. If you were born to a slave family or to the lowest caste (Shudra) in India, you were part of that group all your life. Your status in society was prescribed by birth. It was ascribed to you through your family's belonging. The 5 th system of Class, is different as it is "open" in the sense that there is a possibility for social mobility. Class system is based on both, your ascribed (the family you were born into) and achieved status (what you earn as a result of your effort). Slides 6-8: With the rise of the capitalist system Marx identified the rise of a class-based system where the capitalist (bourgeoisie) owned the resources needed for production as well as property (land, factories) and is able to produce and accumulate wealth. The workers (proletariat) sell their capacity to work in exchange for wages, they don't own anything other than the capacity to work for the capitalist. Marx argued that class is relational in the sense that they need each other, but that relationship is coercive and produces alienation and exploitation of the workers who are oppressed by the capitalists. Slide 10: Meritocracy is a system based on the rule of merit (effort, ability, achievement) and rewards. In a modern society, the idea is that an individual should be rewarded based on efforts and achievements and not because they were born to a specific family or religion or any other social trait. As a student, you expect to get certain marks based on the effort you put in the course. You also expect that based on your effort and your achievements you will be rewarded accordingly through social mobility. We can distinguish between intergenerational mobility that is seen through generations (upward or downward mobility from your grandparents' generation to your parents). Intragenerational mobility has to do with the changes you are able to see throughout your life. Slides 11-12: Occupational prestige: people agree generally that every occupation has a certain social value. The ranking of various occupations according to their social value creates a relative prestige of the occupation. Looking at the table here, it's clear that some occupations enjoy a higher prestige that is related to higher income, higher level of education, and higher levels of autonomy, independence and responsibility in decision-making. Slides 13-16: Theoretical approaches to social inequality: Functionalist theorists suggest that all social practices should be functional and useful to society. Social inequality serves a function as well. Not all jobs equally enjoy status and prestige because some are more important for society. The need to attract the most qualified for these jobs justifies higher rewards as incentives. Conflict theorists would see the functionalist approach as a way to reward members of the dominant class and therefore would argue that social inequality does not benefit the society at large but the few at the highest strata of society. According to conflict theory, social strata in society represent the struggle between those with power and those without power. Marx focused on economic differences and Weber expanded the analysis of class to include social and cultural differences that relate to lifestyle and status groups. Marx talked about the coercive tools that the government uses to control the masses. However, Gramsci saw other non-coercive ways to manipulate the rest of society to follow and accept the ruling class's ideology. He talked about the need to create and generate consent among the people so they buy into the dominant ideology. Feminist theorists focus on gender relations in society and the ways in which these produce gender inequalities. They ask: How gender differences between men and women were translated to hierarchical and patriarchal relations? How have economic differences that subordinate women in the workplace and in the family, affected women? Symbolic Interaction theorists are less interested in the social structure of society (macroanalysis) and instead are looking at the ways in which people construct their understanding and responses to social inequality. They look at the meanings people attach to status symbols and how these affect social relationships. Status symbols indicate one's position in society. Some are willing to pay more for a product just because it is a trendy brand, they want to be seen with the product because of the status it implies. Slides 17-18: Where do you see yourself in the Canadian class system? almost 60% of Canadians see themselves as part of the middle class. As you can see in these slides, it does not reflect the Canadian reality. Most Canadians are located in the lower strata of the class system.

Gender Relations Transcript Recording Slides 2-6: Gender is a dimension of social inequality and it is different from sex. The latter has to do with biological and physical categories of female and male, while gender has to do with social patterns of behavior we associate with women and men in various societies. So, what does it mean to be a man or a woman in our society? Is it about hormonal differences? Is it about different reproductive systems? For sociologists, it's about the social aspects that historically guided men and women in parallel paths, the social expectations, social norms, that in many societies dictated their trajectory in life. Sociologists do not reject biological differences between men and women, these are very real, but they argue that these differences should not limit or prevent women from fully participating in society, equally to men. Both sex and gender offer two possibilities: it's either male or female; and man or woman. This dichotomy produces a form of a binary distinction that ignores other possibilities. For example, indigenous societies had three genders: men, women, and two-spirit; We can use another term: gendernonconforming to include people who do not accept this dichotomy and define themselves in other ways. Masculinity and femininity are characterized as specific patterns of behavior for men and women, these are dominant forms of behavior that seem to be accepted as the norm. Hegemonic masculinity is the ideal type that men are expected to achieve and both men and women accept it and perpetuate the image it represents in various social institutions such as popular culture (movies, ads, celebrity culture), the workplace, religion and politics. Emphasized femininity is the ideal type for women that is based on accepting subordination and marginality to men. Slides 7-12: Various social institutions are responsible for reproducing gender relations in society. We discussed gender socialization in our families and socialization units (see Weekly Resources). The education system and the workplace also perpetuate specific notions of masculinity and femininity within various fields. Until the 1960s very few fields were open to women and most women populated the teaching, nursing, sales and clerical jobs. These were seen as "appropriate" for women. Today, more women graduate medical schools than men, and we can see women pursuing a greater variety of jobs. There are two ways in which work is gendered: 1. The gender concentration: the number of people employed in a specific job or program (i.e. women in nursing; men in science). 2. The gendered meanings of the job (nursing is about caring; science is about logic). Many women work in non-standard jobs: part-time, shift, seasonal, sessional, etc. These jobs have advantages for women who are still seen as responsible for household work. But these jobs are limiting women's possibilities to advance their careers. The "double-shift" or "second shift" that women are expected to perform refers to the paid and unpaid (domestic) work women do. This is the result of traditional understandings of gender roles, where we see women as responsible for domestic work regardless of their work outside the home. Slide 13: The political institution is gendered as well. For many years women could not participate in the political system because they could not vote and therefore could not get elected to government. Since the 1970s there is an increase in the number of women in the House of Commons but even after 50 years, women represent only 26% of elected members pf parliament. Politics is still not seen as an arena for women. It is still part of the "old boys club". Political parties need to nominate women as candidates so they could equally compete for representation. Women still lack connections, financial support, and often are excluded from informal networks. Slides 14-15: As you can see feminism has no one definition and feminists refrain from defining the concept in an all-encompassing way. You can read about the feminist movement and the three "waves" in chapter 1, pg. 26-29. Instead, feminists developed a variety of theoretical approached to explain women's positions in society. Slides 16-22 Feminist Theories generally focus on the conditions that produce women's subordination and oppression in society. Liberal feminism is focused on equal opportunities and access to education, jobs, and laws that protect their equality of opportunity in society. Equal rights and opportunities will secure women's positions in society as equal citizens in society. The main criticism against this approach is that it highlights individual rights and laws and does not talk about women as a social group. Also, it was argued that non-white women suffered from many other issues that are not related to the laws or opportunities but rather to issues related to class, race, and sexuality that liberal feminism did not discuss. Essentialist feminism talks about the essential differences between men and women, valuing these differences as morally different. However, these differences are valued negatively in a patriarchal society. This approach was quite popular among women in late 19th century. Today, feminists reject the idea that women's experiences and ways of thinking could be universally unified. Socialist feminism draws from Marx and the need to integrate gender in class analysis: The capitalist system is exploitative to women, it is based on profit for the rich, who are mostly men, and the exploitation of the poor, including women. Socialist feminist explored the family from this vantage point and argued that women in the family are the proletariat and the need is to integrate in the discussion the unpaid work in the domestic sphere. The solution here is based on eradicating capitalism and implementing a just economic system. Radical feminism has to do with women's oppression, not discrimination (as liberal feminists would have it). Women are oppressed in patriarchy. They are under the control of men in their families and under the control of society in which men dominate. The control is systemic and comprehensive to include their bodies as well. The means used in this form of control are related to the beauty ideals, for example. The family is seen as a site of control but it would be hard to eradicate the family. Postmodern Feminism accepts the idea that gender is socially constructed and subjective, not based on an objective view of gender. Therefore, binary thinking about gender is rejected and instead, gender is seen as a continuum, where people can identify with some aspects of gender in different situations and with other aspects, in other situations. Masculinity is varied as well. Hegemonic masculinity is harmful to men and women and instead, men accept other forms such as marginalized and subordinate masculinities to include all men and challenge the notion of one unified experience for all men.

Gender Relations Gender Relations: • What does it mean to be a man or a woman? Sex A socially agreed upon biological category used to distinguish between males and females Gender (since the 1970s, a distinction provided by feminists) Socially constructed characteristics associated with girls and boys, men and women: masculinity and femininity traits. Sex, Gender, and Sexuality, cont'd • Gender: Sociological term that refers to the roles and characteristics society assigns to women and men - Carries with it notions of inequality between genders - Case study: Storm (see chapter) • Gender role: Set of attitudes and expectations concerning behaviour that relates to being female or male Sex, Gender, and Sexuality, cont'd • Cisgender: When one strongly identifies with the gender roles associated with one's biological sex • Transgender: When one's gender identity and behaviour do not conform to the gender role associated with their biological sex - Case study: Caitlyn Jenner, Jenna Takackova, Thomas Beatie • Transsexual: When one feels a persistent desire to belong to the other sex Gender relations are organizing principles that shape and order interactions between men and women. Dominant constructions of masculinity & femininity exist; however, men & women are not homogeneous groups. Hegemonic Masculinity The normative ideal that men are supposed to achieve. Associated with aggressiveness, strength, drive, ambition, success, power, & heterosexuality. Fear of not being man enough leads to perpetuation of gendered behaviour and stereotypes. Emphasized Femininity The normative ideal of femininity that women try to achieve Based on compliance and subordination to men Requires women to be supportive, enthusiastic and sexually attractive. What does it mean to "Throw like a girl"? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjJQBjWYDTs Reproducing Gender: Our understanding of gender and gender relations is taught to us by the agents of socialization. Families Schools jobs Media Religion Gendered Occupation and Education • Certain jobs and post-secondary programs are gendered - One gender will be prevalent - The work itself is typically imbued with gendered meanings and defined in gendered terms • Example: nursing is associated with words like "nurturing" and "caring," which are feminine traits and offshoots of motherhood Gender and Work: Occupational Sex Segregation Refers to concentration of women in "traditional" occupations (e.g., 2/3 of women worked in teaching, nursing, clerical, administration and sales). The Glass Ceiling: for women in male-dominated jobs Refers to the idea that women can see the top of the corporate ladder, but cannot reach it. The Glass Escalator: for men in female-dominated jobs refers to the idea that men advance to top positions much quicker than women. Non Standard, Part-Time Work Women represent 70% of part-time workers 30% of women took part-time work because of family obligations versus 5% of men Women who work in male dominated industries are more likely to never marry or to remain childless than women in other occupations. The Gendered Wage Gap Women continue to earn less than men - On average women earn 70.5 % of what men earn - University educated women earn 68% of men - Aboriginal women earn less than white women How can we explain this gap? White Collar/ Blue Collar and Pink Collar jobs: Pink Collar Jobs refer to jobs dominated by women (beauty, care, service). The Feminization of Poverty: women are disproportionately represented: about 60% of adults living in poverty in Canada are women. Poor single mothers are at risk more than others. Feminization of Occupations • The feminization of an occupational sphere occurs when a particular job, profession, or industry comes to be dominated by or predominantly associated with women • Feminization is linked to lower earnings, less job protection, fewer benefits • Examples: financial service advisers, administrative assistants • Case study: Women's clerical work in Canada (see chapter) Women and Politics: • Women are responsible for less than 20% of global decision-making. • Women represent 18% of elected officials globally • Canada: 1920-1970 only 18 women in the House of Commons. • 1970's: women represent 5% of elected politicians • 1980's: women represent 9% of elected politician • 1990's: women represent 18% • 2010: women represent 22% • Canada ranks 49th internationally Feminism The fundamental belief in equality between men and women. "Biology is not Destiny" - stratification by gender is wrong and should be challenged. Women's positions in society are affected by social factors. Women's experiences are as valuable as men's. Hierarchy and patriarchy produce inequality. The need to change social institutions to generate social change. Feminism: a movement to eliminate systems of inequality (see chapter 1 discussion of the waves in feminist movement) Definitions: Betty Friedan: "Feminism is not about women or men; its about changing the world" Carol Giligan: Feminism is a movement to liberate Democracy from Patriarchy". • No one unified definition Bell hooks: "Feminism is a movement to end sexism, sexist exploitation and oppression" • No one unified definition Liberal Feminism: Ideas of Liberalism (Enlightenment) Citizenship, civil rights, political representation: The Vote • Liberties, equality, democracy: extending laws to women, access to education, laws to protect women in the family, citizenship and access to political vote • Reforms within the existing social order will bring change. Acceptance of basic structure of democratic society • Critique: focus on individual rights vs. group oppressions; Laws are not enough for social change: the need to eradicate institutionalized sexism and discrimination Political Participation in Provincial Elections 1916: Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta 1917: British Columbia, Ontario 1918: Nova Scotia 1919: New Brunswick, Yukon 1922: PEI 1925: Newfoundland, 1940: Quebec 1951: Northwest Territories 1918: Federal elections Women gain the vote internationally New Zealand 1893 Australia 1902 Finland 1906 Norway 1913 Canada 1917 United States 1920 Turkey 1934 Japan 1947 China 1949 Iran 1963 Switzerland 1971 Kuwait 2005 Essentialist Feminism • Women and Men are essentially different • Biology assigns natural abilities and characteristics to men and women • Femininity and Masculinity are ascribed • "Women have a maternal instinct" • Femininity is not valued in patriarchal society Critique: • Universalizing women, unified experience of gender • "Natural" instincts used to marginalize women • Justifies women's positions as subordinate Socialist Feminism: Critiques of Capitalism and Industrial Society, based on Marx A system of exploitation of working class and women • Material production as basis for social life (overlooks women's work at home) • Women's oppression caused by capitalist relations • Women as proletariat both in and outside the home Social Change: eradicate capitalism, categories of class/gender Critique: Ignores women's history before Capitalism: oppression • adding women to socialist theory, women not a unified category; Focus on unpaid work, daycares, Radical Feminism Identified women's oppression in men's control over women's bodies—patriarchy was a culture of control and domination over women's bodies and their sexuality Defined the nuclear family as a patriarchal institution and challenged 'normal' and 'natural' concepts of romantic love and the idealization of motherhood Challenged 'woman' = mother • Concerned with the objectification of women's bodies and cultural expectations of beauty • Male gaze AND whiteness defines beauty in Western societies, and this must change! Postmodern Feminism Postmodern theory is concerned with voices in contrast to the dominant voice of the powerful in society. Multiple voices challenge the concept of objectivity and truth. Identity is socially constructed and is not naturally (essentially) based. Some postmodernist feminists reject the concept of biological sex altogether. Multiple sexualities challenge the binary opposites of male/female Gender as performance, we act upon it in different ways Hegemonic Masculinity the idea that in every society there exists a specific way in which to do, and be, masculine. The normative ideal that men are supposed to achieve. Associated with aggressiveness, strength, drive, ambition, success, power, & heterosexuality. Fear of not being "man enough" leads to perpetuation of gendered behaviour and stereotypes. "man up" "don't cry like a girl/baby" Multiple Masculinities Rejects a fixed, unitary, monolithic, ahistorical, hegemonic masculinity. Instead, there are varied versions of dominant and marginalized types that are influenced by the social locations of particular men and they are fluid and shifting. • Intersectionality: male power and privilege are not assured for all men. Marginalized masculinity • Homosexuality: subordinate masculinity, "other" masculine, seen as a threat • Socialization Critique: how boys and men acquire messages about masculinity is stereotypical Being a Gender Minority in a Gendered Occupation • Sargent's (2005) research found that being a minority in a gendered job can have profound impact on one's gender performance at work • Men in early childhood education have to juggle subordinate masculinity (e.g. being nurturing) and stereotypical masculinity performances (e.g. sexualization of the male touch) Feminist Men • Men advocating for women, "doing" feminism • Rejecting hegemonic masculinity • New forms of fatherhood, family priority • White Ribbon Campaign since 1991, to end violence against women