Question

Why are race, class, and gender important concerns for sociologists who study social stratification in the United States and other nations? What suggestions can you make for alleviating the problems associated with the feminization of poverty in this country? What might happen in a country where the rich continue to get richer and the poor become increasingly impoverished? Is this a concern for the United States today?

Answer 1

Sociologists defines study people's social lives, activities, behaviours, interactions, processes, and organizations within the context of larger social, political, and economic forces.

Social stratification refers to the way people are ranked and ordered in society based on their socio economic factors.

Sociologists use the term social stratification to refer to social hierarchies. Those higher in social hierarchies have greater access to power and resources. In the United States, social stratification is often based on income and wealth so as to justify and know the consequences of these social inequalities in society sociologists will study social stratification. some of the important categories mainly that affect social standing include social classes, slavery, race/ethnicity, gender, caste system.....etc

feminization of poverty is the phenomenon in which women experience poverty at rates that are disproportionately high in comparison to men.

All we know that women and girls are a powerful force for change. And when we put women and girls at the center of development,

we can break the cycle of poverty by some basic solutions. We can help them delay their marriages, choose the timing and spacing of their pregnancies, access needed services and information, complete their education, and gain the knowledge and skills they need to participate in the economy and in their country’s development.

some of the popular soultions for feminization of poverty are as mentioned below;

Gender equality; ‘the promotion of equality between women and men must be an integral part of the work on promotion of sustainable livelihoods and poverty reduction; on peace, democracy and human rights; and environmentally sustainable development.

Policy document highlights three areas related to structural and systemic causes of gender inequality which need to be specifically addressed

– Human rights of women

– Equal participation in political decision-making

– Equal participation in economic decision-making and economic independence

Poverty; ‘Integrating the gender equality aspect into different policy areas will create a sustainable basis of political, economic, social and cultural changes in society that will help to establish greater equality between women and men and promote the fight against poverty’.

"The rich get richer and the poor get poorer", yes this a huge concern for not only US but also for so many developing countries around the world.

A society with a huge gap between rich and poor often ends up being a depressed and a falling society. Society is like a motorcycle if the last wheel is broken or is not functioning properly, the entire vehicle will slow down and at particular instant motorcycle will collapse.

some of the consequences for income inequality are ;

corruption :   In socities there is no internal peace between the groups and there will be of chaos and corruption. corruption will be very high in every sector from politics,education,health,housing,human rights,employment by the affect of corruption poor people's freedom,opportunities and resources are strictly limited.

crime rates: The more the number of poor people, researchers say, more are the crimes. It also decreases the health levels. A society where most people cannot have good health care will lead to a society with mostly ill people. All of this will lead to a depreciated.

Economic growth ;  A high level of economic inequality means a higher level of poverty. which places burdens on the economy. In the face of increasing food prices and lower incomes, support for pro-growth government policies declines. Wealthy citizens maintain disproportionate political power compared to poorer citizens,which encourages the development of inefficient tax structures skewed in favor of the wealthy.

Unequal income distribution increases political instability, which threatens property rights, increases the risk of state repudiated contracts, and discourages capital accumulation.A widening rich-poor gap tends to increase the rate of rent-seeking and predatory market behaviors that hinder economic growth.