Types of Inequality

Social inequality-
Meaning
 Social inequality refers to the
existence of unequal opportunities
and rewards for different social
positions or statuses within a
group or society.
 Definition

 According to Ian Robertson” Social

inequality exists when some
people have a greater share of
power , wealth or prestige than
others
 Salient features of social
inequality
 Social inequality is the result of differentiation
 Social inequality is Universal
 Social inequality is normally built in to the
social structure
 Social inequality is a source of social conflict
and social change
 Social inequalities are normally sustained by
the power of ideas.
 Social inequalities are not necessarily based
on natural or biological inequalities.
Types of inequality

Caste
Inequality
Gender
inequality

Class inequality

Regional
Inequality
Caste inequality
 H. Cooly defines caste as the “the life style and
practices strictly followed by social group.
 Each caste has its own life –style, code of
conduct , prescribed customs , traditions,
norms which state what is right and what is
wrong rituals and practices. Caste has roots in
racial differences among the human beings and
spreads slowly.
 In India there are countless number of caste
and subcaste
 The disparity in the society which
provides for making available
preferences and privileges to some
caste and denying the same to other
castes is known as caste-based
inequality.
 Children born to parents of the same
caste are alone considered as belonging
to that caste. Generally marriages take
place with in the same caste.
 Jawaharlal Nehru described the caste
system as the cancer affecting the
Indian society.
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?
 India’s upper caste households earned nearly
47% more than the national average annual
household income, the top 10% within these
castes owned 60% of the wealth within the
group in 2012, as per the World Inequality
Database.
 Caste Inequality is a hereditary stratification system.
In Hindu tradition, a person is born into a caste with
little to no mobility. This caste determines one's
lifestyle, prestige, and occupational choices.
 The five castes of Hindus are the elite class, warrior
class, merchant class, servant caste, and the
'untouchables'. This caste of Hindu people were
required to hide from or bow in the presence of
anyone of a higher caste .
 2.Gender Inequality

 Gender inequality is the unequal treatment or

perceptions of individuals based on their gender. It
arises from differences in socially constructed gender roles
 Gender inequality acknowledges that men and women
are not equal and that gender affects an individual's
living experience. These differences arise from distinctions
in biology, psychology, and cultural norms.
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9CLFiPnOd8
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpPozOvNrKA
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjTRkp7vIo0
 Gender Inequality

 Gender based prejudice and discrimination

called sexism is a major contributing factor to
social inequality.
 Treating males and females differently in the
family , educational institutions, work places,
common places like railway stations,
restaurants, cinema theatres, markets and
shopping malls, places of worship etc.
 Opportunities for women are not equal as that
for men. Percentage of women among those
in top posts is very low.
 Though ‘ equal pay for equal work’ has
been accepted in principle, in practice the
pay for women is found to be less than men
doing the same work , particularly in the
unorganised sector.
 In education too, the rate of enrolment of girls
is considerably less than that of boys, their
rate of drop out is also high.
Gender Inequality

 The Global Gender Gap Report,

2019, ranks India at 129 among 146
countries.
 Four parameters for measuring gender
inequality are economic
participation and opportunity,
health and survival, educational
attainment and political
empowerment.
 Gender wage gap is highest in India according
International Labour Organization women
are paid 34% less than men.
 Women comprise over 42 percent of the
agricultural labour force in the country.
 Class Inequality

 When we look around, we can see that everyone

doesn’t have equal amounts of money or
resources. We hear news of a billionaire whose
house costs a billion dollars, but at the same
time see beggars on the roads with no food or
shelter. This called Class Inequality,
 where people of a high class have excess
resources, while the majority live in poverty with
no basic food, water, clothes or shelter. There is
no equal distribution of resources.
 Below Poverty Line(BPL): Their
whole income is just sufficient to meet
the above three after they
compromise on low quality food,
shelter and clothes. very little money
is left for entertainment. Annual
income is below 27000.
 Economically Weaker
section(EWS): After spending on
food, shelter, clothes and
entertainment, they can save about
10–20% of their income for future use.
Annual income is up to 3 lakhs. Group
is typically equipped with basic living
conditions and has access to
 Low Income Group(LIG)
Annual income is between Rs 3 lakhs to Rs 6
lakhs, Characterised by a modest lifestyle, basic
consumer goods and limited savings
 Upper middle class people: After spending on
food, shelter, clothes and entertainment, they can
save about 50–60% of their income for future use.
 High Income Group(HIG): Money spent on food,
shelter, clothing and entertainment would be less
than 10% of their total income. The balance
income is either saved or invested in business.
Annual income above Rs 18lakhs characterised by
high quality living, Luxury goods, significant
savings and investments
 Ultra rich people: Money spent on food,
shelter, clothing and entertainment would be
less than 0.1% of their total income. The
balance income is generally invested in
business and spent on philanthropic activities.
 Regional inequality

 All states in India are not equally developed.

 The main indices of progress like generation
of electricity, food production, transport and
communication facilities , pe-rcapita income
and employment opportunities available are
high in some states while some other states
are lagging behind in them.
  Population as per 2011 census
S.No Zone State Average
(number)
1 South India Andhra Pradesh 4.93 crores
2 Central India Maharashtra 11.00 crores
3 North India Uttar Pradesh 19.9 crores
4 East India Assam 3.11 crores
 Consequences of Inequalities

 Inequalities tend to produce social conflict among the

social groups e.g. caste groups like Jaats, Maratha, Patels are
demanding reservations but this demand is opposed by caste
groups already claiming the benefits of reservations, such
clash of interest due to perceived inequality tend to produce
violent conflicts between opposing caste groups.
 Inequalities among ethnic groups have led to various ethnic
movements demanding separate states or autonomous
regions or even outright secession from India. North East has
been rocked by numerous such ethnic movement e.g. by
Nagas for greater Nagalim etc.
 Religious inequality tends to
generate feeling of exclusion
among religious minority groups.
This reduces their participation in
mainstream, in India religious
minorities have large population their
economic exclusion compromises the
GDP growth of nation as whole.
 High economic inequality is detrimental to
public healthcare and education. Upper
and Middle classes do not have vested
interest in well functioning public healthcare
and education as they have means to access
private healthcare and education.
Measures to Deal with Inequalities

 Constitutional Provision:
Enforcement of Constitutional
Guarantee of equality as enshrined in
fundamental rights. Articles 14, 15
and 16 form part of a scheme of the
Constitutional Right to Equality. Article
15 and 16 are incidents of guarantees
of Equality, and gives effect to Article
14.
 Promoting Civil Society
 Provide a greater voice to traditionally oppressed and
suppressed groups, including by enabling civil society
groups like unions and association with in these
groups.
 Scheduled castes and Scheduled tribes should be
motivated to become entrepreneurs, schemes like
Stand up India need to be expanded to widen its
reach by increasing funding.
 Women Empowerment
 For gender equality policies like affirmative action
by reserving seats in legislatures, increasing
reservation at Local self government both at
Urban and village level to 50% in all states, strict
implementation of The Equal Remuneration
act,1976 to remove wage gap, making education
curriculum gender sensitive, raising awareness
about women right, changing social norms
through schemes like Beti Bachao Beti Padhao
etc.
 Inclusion of Religious Minorities
 Religious minority groups need special attention
through representation in government jobs, provision
of institutional credit, improvement of their education
access, protection of their human rights by
empowering National commission for Minority,
strengthening rule of law etc.
 Inclusion of Religious Minorities
 Religious minority groups need special
attention through representation in
government jobs, provision of institutional
credit, improvement of their education
access, protection of their human rights
by empowering National commission for
Minority, strengthening rule of law etc.
 Economic Policies
 By ensuring universal access to public
funded high quality services like Public
health and education, social security
benefits, employment guarantee schemes;
inequality can be reduced to great extent.
 Employment Generation
The failure to grow manufacturing sectors like Textile,
Clothing, automobiles, consumer goods etc. is the important
reason of rising inequalities.
 The Labour-intensive manufacturing has the potential to
absorb millions of people who are leaving farming while
service sector tend to benefit majorly urban middle class.