Social inequality is defined as differences in social positions among population groups (e.g., social classes, castes, or age cohorts). Prior research shows that individuals’ perceptions of prevailing social justice and of how income and resources are distributed are shaped by their own mental belief systems. The present study aims to examine, in depth, Generation Z’s perceptions of existing inequalities in Iranian society. This qualitative study, conducted in 2023 (Iranian calendar year 1402) in Khomeyni Shahr, Isfahan, employed a thematic analysis approach. Data were gathered through semi-structured interviews with 16 residents born between 1998 and 2008. Participants were selected via convenience and purposive sampling while ensuring maximum variation in age, gender, and socioeconomic status; recruitment continued until theoretical saturation was reached.
Data were analyzed using Braun and Clarke’s (2006) six-phase procedure for thematic analysis. Findings indicate that participants view the prevailing social conditions as discriminatory—particularly against women—and regard the distribution of wealth and access to positions and offices as unjust. In their view, the absence of meritocracy in appointments and rewards, alongside the entrenchment of discriminatory laws and norms, constitute key roots of the status quo. The reported forms of discrimination generate multi-level consequences across economic (poverty, class stratification, unemployment), social (erosion of trust and social capital, conflict, migration), and individual-psychological domains (feelings of failure, anxiety, depression), and elicit a spectrum of responses ranging from active (protest, awareness-raising, legal recourse) to passive (silence, acceptance, disillusionment with seeking redress). Overall, the results suggest that, shaped by repeated experiences of structural and cultural discrimination, Generation Z adopts a critical stance toward social justice—one that influences their value orientations as well as their individual and collective actions.

Extended Abstract
1. Introduction
Social inequality is understood as structural differences in social positions among population groups (classes, castes, age cohorts, etc.) and refers to a systemic imbalance rooted in the functioning of institutions such as education, health, justice, and social protection. This imbalance unequally distributes access to resources and services, life chances, and the capacity to attain desired outcomes, thereby shaping perceptions of justice, legitimacy, social trust, and civic participation (Dennis & Kildes, 2016). Recent quantitative indicators also attest to the persistence of inequality in Iran: the country’s Gini coefficient in 2022 stood at 34.8 (79th worldwide) (World Bank, 2022), and on the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap 2023, Iran ranked 143 out of 146 with a score of 0.578. In terms of generational attitudes, Ipsos’ 2024 multi-country survey (29 countries) shows Gen Z more than prior cohorts views inequality as a major issue in their country and displays stronger proclivities toward holding power to account. In Iran, official analyses of the 2019 protests likewise emphasized a “deep generational gap” as an emergent variable in explaining discontent.
Theoretically, the phenomenon can be read across several traditions: Marx locates inequality in concentrated ownership and class domination; Weber in the interlocking of class, status, and party (power); Rawls grounds legitimacy in “fair equality of opportunity” and permits only those inequalities that benefit the least advantaged; and Gramsci explicates how cultural hegemony “naturalizes” structural inequalities by translating dominant-class values into everyday “common sense.” Within this frame, the present qualitative study explores Gen Z’s perceptions of inequality through lived narratives in Khomeini-Shahr (Isfahan), traces multi-level consequences, and delineates the “dynamics of responses” to discriminatory situations. The problem-centeredness of this cohort—arising from the confluence of discriminatory experiences, digital literacy, and exposure to global justice discourses—underscores the need for such an inquiry.

2. Methodology
This applied qualitative study employed thematic analysis in Khomeini-Shahr, Isfahan (2023/1402). The population comprised Gen Z (born 1998–2008, per Cambridge Dictionary alignment). Sampling was purposeful and convenience-based with a maximum variation strategy to capture gender, age, socioeconomic diversity, and neighborhood heterogeneity. Data collection proceeded until theoretical saturation; ultimately, 16 semi-structured interviews were conducted (9 male, 7 female; a mix of university students, conscripts, self-employed, homemaker, unemployed, and high-school students). Interviews (20–45 minutes) were held in public spaces or online.
Ethical safeguards included verbal informed consent, confidentiality, and pseudonyms. Transcripts were prepared from full audio recordings and imported into MAXQDA 2020. The analysis followed Braun & Clarke’s (2006) six-step procedure: familiarization with the data; generation of initial codes; clustering codes and forming themes; reviewing themes; defining and naming themes; and composing the analytic narrative. Trustworthiness drew on Lincoln & Guba’s four criteria: credibility (complete recording, careful transcription, and audio–text cross-checking), dependability (transparent documentation of the coding and category-development audit trail), transferability (rich contextual description of field and participants), and confirmability (researcher reflexivity and bracketing to curb bias, with ongoing supervision by faculty advisors/peer reviewers across the process).

3. Findings
The analysis identified 69 unique codes consolidated into 11 sub-themes and 4 overarching themes, divided between hidden discrimination and manifest discrimination, and linked to outcomes and response patterns. Hidden discrimination was rooted in a culture of injustice, where discriminatory norms and assumptions were normalized through materialism, law-evasion, and the devaluation of women’s roles. Respect and resources were directed toward powerholders, while the less powerful often internalized these inequities. An unjust legal framework was perceived to privilege lawmakers and their networks, reinforcing legal patriarchy, particularly in family and employment contexts, with costly repercussions for those resisting discriminatory directives.
Manifest discrimination emerged in three main forms. Gender discrimination limited women’s access to jobs, benefits, equal pay, and personal freedoms, with even male participants acknowledging these patterns. Anti-meritocratic allocation reflected nepotism, ideological screening, and quota-based advantages, undermining competence-based advancement and marginalizing high achievers. The economic face of discrimination was visible in sharp income gaps, power-based rather than performance-based pay, and widespread corruption, creating a stark contrast between the privileged and the destitute. These patterns produced multi-level consequences. Economically, participants reported inflation, unemployment, and widening class divides. Individually and psychologically, discrimination fostered anxiety, frustration, depression, and learned helplessness, often tied to blocked educational or career opportunities. Socially, trust erosion, law-evasion, addiction, and brain drain were common, alongside gendered harms such as divorce, child marriage, and honor killings. Discontent over dress codes, lifestyle constraints, and poor economic conditions frequently fueled protest. In terms of response dynamics, some engaged in active measures—legal action, awareness-raising, mutual aid—often motivated by solidarity. Others responded passively through silence, acceptance, or cautious withdrawal, balancing rising aspirations with the risks of confrontation, a tension consistent with theories of relative deprivation.
4. Conclusion
The narratives of Gen Z in Khomeini-Shahr portray a society where hidden discrimination (culture and law) crystallizes into manifest discrimination (gendered inequality, anti-meritocratic allocation, and distributive unfairness), which then multiplies across economic, psychological, and social outcomes. Conceptually, this mosaic coheres with Marxian (class domination), Weberian (differential life chances across class/status/power), Rawlsian (breaches of fair equality of opportunity and distributive justice), and Gramscian (hegemony’s naturalization of inequality) frames, and it resonates with current quantitative indicators and cross-national attitude data on Gen Z’s heightened inequality salience.
Consequently, structural–cultural discrimination has rendered Gen Z’s justice perceptions sharply critical, shaping values and repertoires of action: some adopt contentious politics, awareness work, and legal mobilization, while others—given anticipated costs—choose silence and cautious acceptance. Bridging perception–reality gaps requires synchronized interventions at both structural and cultural levels:
1.       Legal–Institutional Reform: Dismantle patriarchal biases in law; guarantee equal opportunities for women; explicitly criminalize discriminatory practices; curb rent-seeking/nepotism; institutionalize meritocracy and transparency in appointments and resource allocation.
2.       Cultural–Educational Intervention: Teach a precise concept of social justice from early schooling; denormalize law-evasion and hyper-materialism; publicly valorize merit rather than kinship/ideological capital.
3.       Economic–Welfare Response: Active labor-market policies, support for micro-enterprises and start-ups, progressive redistributive measures (incl. tax reform), and targeted protection for vulnerable groups to disrupt poverty reproduction and narrow class gaps.
4.       Psychosocial Support & Participatory Governance: Expand youth mental-health services; create safe, lawful channels for peaceful dissent; and open meaningful avenues for Gen Z participation in policy processes. Leverage digital tools for transparency and discrimination reporting while mitigating the third-level digital divide, converting this cohort’s critical awareness into transformative civic capacity.
Overall, Gen Z in Iran articulates inequality as both structural and cultural—with cascading effects from the household budget to mental health, and from social capital to migration of talent. Effective policy must be simultaneously legal, economic, cultural, and psychosocial. Only then can perceptions of justice improve, and the cohort’s critical energies be channeled toward redefining the social order and strengthening collective resilience rather than exiting the system.