The study of social inequalities is one of the most important areas of sociology as inequalities in property, power, and prestige have long-term consequences on access to the basic necessities of life such as good health, education, and a well-paying job. Unequal resources between groups also influence their interaction with all the basic institutions of society: the economy, the political system, and religion, among others. An understanding of how inequalities arise, their forms and consequences, and the processes that tend to sustain them is essential for the formulation of policies that will improve the well-being of all in society.

All societies in the world are socially stratified (i.e. wealth, power, and honor are unequally distributed among different groups). However, they vary in the ways in which inequality is structured. One of the most frequently used bases for categorizing different forms of...