Chapter eight: Social stratification in the United States Flashcards
(33 cards)
Hierarchical differences based on status, power, economic positions
Social stratification
One’s economic position in the stratification system, especially one’s occupation
Social class
Large scale entrepreneurs, hedge funds, & major investors are examples of
Upper class
Teachers, nurses, & firefighters are examples of
Middle class
Manual, clerical, full-time service workers, & fast-food chains are examples of
Working class
Part-time service workers, & unemployed are examples of
Lower class
The prestige that is connected to a person’s position within a society
Status
Ability to make/control what others do or what you want others to do, even if such actions are forced
Power
Example of an exception to income=power. People that make greater income but not greater power in relationships; share power
Breadwinner moms and wives
Similar rank across all dimensions
Status consistency
Different positions within dimensions
Status inconsistency
A condition whereby some positions in society yield a great deal of money, status, and power, while others yield little, if any of these
Inequality
Total amount of a person’s financial assets and other properties minus debts/liabilities (T$ - D/L)
Wealth
Amount of money an individual earns from their work, business, return on investments (real estate, stocks); measured year to year ( 1 (J + I))
Income
Underemployed, unemployed, part-time jobs, welfare
Poverty
Measure of what people require for survival
Absolute poverty
Live on $2 a day- 1.5 million families (3 million children)
Extreme poverty
People, irrespective of income consider themselves impoverished in comparison to others around them; ex. material resources
Relative poverty
Threshold in terms of a set income- household income compared to it (set by Social Security Administration)
Poverty line
Those with income less than 25% above poverty line
Near poor
Limits upward mobility among women with children; moms seeking jobs are less likely to be hired, are offered lower salaries, and are seen by others as less committed to the workplace
Motherhood penalty
In 2020, women earned 84% of what men earned (take extra 42 days to earn what men did)
Wage gap
Ability or inability to change one’s position in the hierarchy
Social mobility
Ability to move higher up in hierarchy
(ex. poor= little upward mobility; middle class= more upward mobility)
[micro]
Upward mobility