ABSTRACT
In all societies there are differences between people in terms of the amount of power and wealth they command. In this chapter we discuss various social and cultural divisions, considering the main forms of social stratification in the contemporary world and exploring how these might be explained from a feminist perspective. Focusing initially on gender and then social class, we also look at racial and ethnic divisions, as well as feminist contributions to sociological perspectives on disability. Finally, we examine global patterns of stratification and the ways in which these are shaped by sexual difference (the difference between men and women). This is not to say, however, that issues of identity, difference and inequality are not considered in subsequent chapters. What we are aiming to do here is merely map out a conceptual and empirical framework by exploring sociological and feminist perspectives on aspects of identity and difference that shape men’s and women’s experiences of the social world, and particularly of social stratification.
