Institutions play a dominant role in our society and influence the manner in which we live. Institutions form the basic structure of society and impact our access to information, employment, financial and educational resources, and quality of life. This book showcases how American institutions perpetuate inequality and are in need of major reform in order for all individuals to have equal access to societal opportunities. A major goal of this book is to raise awareness of the level of inequality that continues to exist in our society in spite of gains made in recent decades. Aimed at both social science students and general readers, this book illustrates how social patterns have fostered the separation of groups and how we must do things differently in order to support inclusion rather than exclusion based on gender, race, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status. Major sociological theoretical perspectives illustrate varying viewpoints of social events along with the ideology of prominent scholars such as Durkheim, Weber, Park, Tonnies, Marx, and Engels. At the end of each chapter, additional resources are listed for further review of the main topics presented.