STUDIES ON SOCIAL STRATIFICATION AND INEQUALITIES

Abstract

This study critically examines the multidimensional nature of social stratification and inequality in Pakistan, as they occur across class, gender, ethnicity, and geography. The research employs a convergent mixed methods approach using both quantitative and qualitative data from 300 survey respondents and 30 in-depth interviews across both urban and rural regions to explore, drawing on existing work on structural mechanisms, institutional practices and lived experiences, how inequality is perpetuated. Look across findings, there are big disparities in what it means to access education, in access to employment opportunities, and in perceptions of institutional fairness, particularly among rural populations, women, and ethnic minorities. People of lower class report more systemic exclusion, while people of upper class more see institutional meritocracy and fairness. The patterns are interpreted within the theoretical framework of intersectionality theory, Bourdieu, and Wright to integrate the gap between theory and practice, thus deepening the  understanding of inequality reproduction within a postcolonial neoliberal context. Reform of education, labour equity, removal of gendered and ethnic barriers, and promotion of inclusive governance are key policy recommendations. This research adds an empirically grounded and localized perspective to the globalization of inequality by centering marginal students’ voices and examining data along socio-demographic lines.