For human rights to flourish, inequality must be addressed. Inequalities happen worldwide across society — in workplaces, doctor’s offices, in the home, and at the highest offices of political power. What is social inequality, exactly? In this article, we’ll define “social inequality,” describe four types, and explore concrete ways to take action. Social inequality doesn’t have to be an unfortunate fact of life. With the right knowledge, policies, and cultural shifts, preventable disparities can be eliminated.
What is social inequality?
Humans like to organize things, including ourselves. We’ve always organized into social hierarchies for a few reasons, such as distributing limited resources, working on social learning, and boosting individual motivation, according to a 2017 study. Social hierarchies inevitably lead to inequality, however, with individuals at the top getting more resources and privileges than those at the bottom. As the study’s authors write, hierarchies occur across human cultures even though “there are always losers.” Who rises to the top and who gets stuck on the bottom? Factors like class, race, and gender influence a group’s access to things like income, education, healthcare, good work, housing, justice, and more. Therefore, we can define social inequality as the result of an unequal and unfair distribution of resources, privileges, opportunities, and punishments.
Does this mean society can’t achieve equality until everyone has the exact same life, down to their income, education, and health outcomes? That world is impossible, and not even desirable. Equality does not mean “the same,” as trying to ensure 100% sameness in all things can lead to dangerous ideas like eugenics, which argues that “unfit” people (e.g. people with disabilities) should be bred out of existence, creating a supposedly superior and uniform human species. Social inequality as we discuss it refers to the preventable and unjust causes of inequality, like gender and racial discrimination. Some differences are inevitable based on things like genetics, but in a world rife with discrimination and prejudice, it’s important to distinguish which differences are “natural” and which are manufactured. The key is to not give up on a more equal society just because some differences will exist.
What are the four main types of social inequality?
We’ve mentioned racial and gender discrimination as forms of social inequality, but there’s also income/wealth inequality and inequality based on disability. Let’s take a closer look at all four types:
Racial discrimination
Discrimination based on race has led to some of the most severe social inequalities. Take the United States for example. According to Human Rights Watch, Black and Hispanic families have just 24 and 23 cents, respectively, for every $1.00 held by a white family. Other research shows preventable disparities in access to health, employment, education, housing, and more.
South Africa presents another jarring case study. While apartheid (which institutionalized racism against non-white people) ended in 1990, inequalities persist. Research shows that in 2022, white people held 65.9% of top management posts in the private sector, despite making up just 8% of the population. A national study found that Black and Indian people, as well as people with mixed ethnicity, were four times more likely to report acute and chronic experiences of racial discrimination than white people. This discrimination affects health! In 2011, infant mortality in South Africa was 4.6 higher in Black people, 2.4 times higher in mixed-ethnicity people, and 20% higher in Indian people compared to white people.
Gender discrimination
A person’s gender (which is different from biological sex) should never justify discrimination, but throughout history, women and people who don’t conform to gender binaries have endured gender inequality. According to the World Health Organization, 1 in 3 women have experienced physical/and or sexual violence. In 2024, over 750 million people of reproductive age lived in countries with restrictive abortion laws, and around 39,000 women die every year from unsafe abortions. Women also have less than ⅔ of the legal rights granted to men.
While gender discrimination usually refers to inequalities faced by women and girls, it affects trans and gender-diverse people, too. According to the OHCHR, States do not recognize the gender of “the vast majority” of the world’s trans and gender-diverse people, which causes legal issues and fuels discrimination. Gender inequality and restrictive gender roles have serious consequences, like poverty, limited education, fewer job opportunities, and an increased risk of domestic violence.
Income/wealth inequality
Income and wealth are different (income refers to the money a person earns over a specific time while wealth is the accumulated value of all assets), but for our purposes, we’ll talk about both at once. Globally, the distribution of income and wealth is a massive issue. According to the World Inequality Database, the average income in Sub-Saharan Africa is around €240 a month, while people in North America and Oceania make €3,500. This highlights the huge gap between wealthy and poor countries. If that wasn’t unfair enough, wealthy countries also pay lower interest rates on their foreign debts, which sustains the wealth gap.
Even in wealthy countries, you can find serious wealth and income inequality. In the United States, the top 10% of wealthy Americans hold 60% of the nation’s wealth. If you subtract what people get from Social Security, that top 10% actually holds 70%, while the country’s bottom half controls just 3%. Wealth/income inequality contributes to poverty, but even in countries where extreme poverty isn’t common, income inequality can disrupt social cohesion, increase polarization, and reduce economic growth.
Disability
According to the WHO, around 1.3 billion people experience “significant disability,” which is about 1 in 6 people. Disability can lead to serious health issues (people with disabilities have twice the risk of developing conditions like depression, diabetes, and stroke), but as the WHO describes, people with disabilities are more vulnerable to poverty and exclusion from education and employment. A 2023 review writes that “unfair societal and health system factors,” not underlying conditions, drive many poor health outcomes experienced by people with disabilities. Data from a 2022 survey of adults ages 18-64 in the United States found that 40% of adults with disabilities experienced unfair treatment in healthcare settings, at work, and when applying for public benefits.
Racial discrimination can make treatment worse; in that 2023 study, Black and Hispanic adults were more likely to report unfair treatment due to race, ethnicity, language, or country of origin. These inequalities have serious consequences, including earlier deaths. With reduced inequality, people with disabilities can experience longer, better lives.
What are ways to take action against social inequality?
Social inequality is a huge issue with layers too complex for one person to take on. As the United Nations puts it, reducing inequality means making “transformative change” and investing in health, education, social protection, and better jobs. Entire books are written about ending social inequality, so to conclude our article, we’ll discuss just a few ideas on addressing racial discrimination, gender inequality, income/wealth inequality, and disability stigma.
Actions against racial discrimination
Within systems and institutions, racial discrimination is often not overt, but as organizations like Stanford University explain, “color-blind” policies don’t work. They can actually make things worse by failing to address the lingering impacts of past discrimination, which is what’s happening in South Africa post-apartheid. Instead, society must adopt targeted policies that address specific harm. Using home ownership as an example, a targeted policy that increases access to down payment assistance can address the wealth gap between white people and marginalized ethnic groups.
Actions against gender inequality
As with racial discrimination, policies that don’t factor in existing gender inequalities aren’t good enough to end inequality. Take the gender pay gap as an example. If everyone in an office gets the exact same pay raise, but there’s no acknowledgment of the gap between women working the same jobs as men, a raise will not result in equality. Organizations must conduct full audits and take meaningful actions. On a societal level, unpaid labor must be addressed, as well, since women perform the vast majority. Spending multiple unpaid hours cleaning, cooking, getting water, and caring for children contributes significantly to educational and employment inequalities. Policy actions could include increased access to affordable or free childcare and education, more affordable elder care, and better family leave. On a cultural level, individuals can promote equality by standing up against gender discrimination, creating better media representations, and considering how they can model gender equality in their everyday lives.
Actions against income/wealth inequality
Income and wealth inequality are systemic issues, so it’s difficult for individuals to take them on alone. Luckily, there are many policies you can advocate for, many of which have been around for a while and have established movements. TalkPoverty’s blog with experts suggested strengthening social safety nets, raising the minimum wage, closing tax loopholes that benefit the wealthy, establishing subsidized employment programs, and investing in public schools and universal pre-K. Income/wealth inequality has roots in a lack of access to many resources, like healthcare, education, and decent work, so by tackling these issues at the source, the income/wealth gap can narrow.
Actions against disability stigma
Depending on their disability, people have different needs, so it’s important not to treat disability discrimination as a one-size-fits-all. As the Everyday Activism Network explains, disability may lead to shared experiences, but the community, its terminologies, and policy priorities are diverse. That said, inclusion is important for the entire community, so policies that address systemic barriers are needed. People with disabilities should always be at the forefront of any changes, so the first step is to remove barriers to participation. Other action steps include teaching children about inclusion, promoting empowering (and not “inspirational” or infantilizing) content, and understanding intersections with race, gender, sexuality, and more.
