Social mobility refers to the movement of individuals or groups from one position to another within a society's stratification system, which is the hierarchical arrangement of social positions based on factors like wealth, income, occupation, education, and social status. This movement can be upward, representing an improvement in social standing (e.g., moving from a working-class job to a professional occupation), or downward, indicating a decline in social position (e.g., due to unemployment or business failure). Social mobility can occur within an individual's lifetime (intragenerational mobility) or across generations (intergenerational mobility, comparing the social position of children to that of their parents). The degree of social mobility in a society is often seen as an indicator of its openness and the extent to which individuals can change their social standing based on their achievements and efforts rather than being limited by their ascribed status at birth.