SOC 1101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Gini Coefficient, Social Stratification, Ascribed Status

• School: University of Ottawa
• Department: Sociology
• Course: SOC 1101
• Professor: William Flynn

Document Summary

Social stratification: persistent patterns of social inequality; categories thru which society is divided/ranked. Resources unequally distributed in society: changes over time. Gini co-efficient: measures distribution of wealth and income within country. Meritocracy: achievement/success based on individual effort (liberal idealism) Qualified ppl move up to replace incompetent ppl. Closed system: little/no movement between strata/layers: caste system: Open system: movement up/down thru layers/strata by achieved status (wanner) inheritance of privilege/advantages = different levels of access to post-secondary education. Why high school students don"t pursue post secondary education. More and more jobs require higher education. Low income cutoff: anyone spending 63% of after-tax income = low income earner. Working poor: poor not because not working, but because earning little. Functionalist: davis + moore: every society has jobs requiring different training, level of desirability + importance, society rewards jobs w/ more training + important, reflects social importance, justifies inequality as necessary, consensus that society"s fair and just.