Culture can impact social inequality by influencing the factors that determine social groups, by creating justifications for inequality, and sometimes by challenging the basis for inequality.

In India, the Hindu caste system has played a profound role in perpetuation social inequality in India. Conversely, Gandhi used ideas drawn from Hinduism to challenge the validity of the caste system.

In the United States, culturally sanctioned gender inequality persisted well into the 20th Century; however, feminists used the democratic institutions and cultural emphasis on public protest in the U.S. to challenge gender inequality.