Social Stratification In Canada

Social stratification is a system that organizes people and groups and place them within a hierarchy based on factors such as; social class, age, race/ethnicity, and gender. Social class is determined based on the social and economic status one holds, for example, a McDonalds cashier would be part of the working class while a CEO of a mining company would be in the upper class. Race is another factor that places people either higher or lower based on their skin colour and their nationality. For example, in Canada the majority are Caucasian so it is more likely a Caucasian would have a better social standing in Canada opposed to an African Canadian, who would be a minority. Age another factor, groups people based on their responsibility, experiences, …show more content…
Like Timothé she was born in Canada and is a Canadian citizen. Both parents are 3rd generation Canadians with her mother being an attorney and her father being a very successful CEO of a fairly large company. Her father makes around $325, 000 a year and her mother makes around $75, 000 a year. Because of the dual-income that her parents have this allows Kayla’s family to be in the upper class of society. Kayla was born in the big city of Toronto, in her early years Kayla was an only child and only lived with her two parents in a huge house in a gated community. She was baptized Catholic, however, neither of her parents practice their religion on a regular basis. Her parents were usually out on business so she will usually spend the day (when she’s not at school) at home instead of going outside. When she did go to school she went to a private school with other upper class children. Her parents would tell her to put effort in her studies and to complement it they decided to hire tutors and teachers since they have the money to do so. She had extra classes for Math and English as well as etiquette classes. Her lavish lifestyle did not require her to go out and look for a job because her parents paid for everything. This factor actually made her more entitled and lazier than other people because she did not have to go out and do things for herself. When she was old enough for high school, her parents enrolled her in a boarding …show more content…
These people believe that it is possible for everyone to have a equal chance in becoming successful regardless of race, gender, age, and/or class. Evidently, there is nothing wrong with the intention, however, the people that carry this optimistic viewpoint either neglect or gloss over the role that social stratification plays in society. As stated above, social stratification, “refers to an institutionalized system of social inequality and a situation in which the divisions and relationships of social inequality have solidified into a system that determines who gets what, when and why” (Little, 2013). Factors such as race, age, gender and social class not only determines where someone is placed within society but also are the factors that determine a person’s individuality and social identity. Each factor on its own has the ability to shape a person’s understanding of the world, however, if you take all these factors into account, it has the ability to dictate a persons life