The term social inequality has been present in human society since its creation. Although its particular facets changed over time, the nature of unequally distributed means and opportunities among people remained the same.
According to Bucher, the contemporary description of social inequality “refers to unequal distribution of resources, such as wealth, power, and prestige”. Subsequently, social inequality leads to the people’s social stratification based on the amount of mentioned resources – social classes.
In a broader approach, social class not only implies the economic status of an individual but also includes education level, lifestyle, personal interests, preferences, and values. However, social stratification is merely one of many dimensions of diversity.
Further dimensions include race, ethnicity, gender, religion, and other factors that can uniquely distinguish people from one another. In this context, social inequality can manifest itself in the difference in attitudes toward people with specific attributes, resulting in discrimination in the worst cases.