Introduction

• Social stratification is the social process through which rewards and resources are distributed systematically or unequally within or among societies.
• Stratification differs from simple inequality in that it is systematic.
• It is also based on identifiable social processes through which people are sorted into categories such as class, caste, race, and gender.
• Max Weber identified major components of inequality in society. They were: inequality of wealth; inequality of social status and inequality of political power

Characteristics of social stratification

• Social stratification is universal process
• It is social
• It has different forms in different time and place
• It is governed by social norms and values
• It is a social indicator of inequality