Social Stratification Strengths

Stratification is when individuals within a society are categorized into different groups based on certain factors. These factors could include wealth, social class, gender, politics and religion. The individuals in society who are lucky to have good income and resources represent the top of the social stratification whereas the individuals who have few resources represent the bottom of the social stratification.

From the functionalist perspective of social stratification, social inequality is needed because it satisfies important system needs and is important for society to work smoothly. Some groups in the social stratification are seen as more functionally important than others because they perhaps require more training and qualifications. As well as society positioning people in these groups and encouraging them to work by connecting with their position results in rewards. These rewards are given out unequally to enable the positions to be filled. They make sure that the most talented and qualified people take the greater social roles therefore the higher positions are rewarded the most and the lower positions are rewarded the least. With this,
An example of a strength would be that it can be powerful. It emphasises the view that the jobs of power and importance are given to those with the most talent or those who put in the dedication and hard work. An example of a weakness would be that it tends to ignore questions of structural inequality because it does not consider the social factors such as racial discrimination and lack of job opportunities as well as low funding of schools that may contribute to the inequality in society.
It is clear that the functionalist perspective draws the attention of those who have positions of power and wealth in society but for those who are less fortunate and powerless it suggests that they lack effort, talent and