They are, in fact, by far its smallest part. In addition, the role of women in the underclass should be emphasized. Stewardship recognizes that Underclass people are generally the population sector most in need. There are several interdependent links between the underclass and stewardship. Stewardship involves caring for the world, including all of its beings - human, natural, and divine.
Underclass people are a high proportion of the world's population.
Underclass people are also generally the segment of the population most in need. The planetary underclass is rapidly emerging to occupy a key position at this time on the planet. Together with third world peasents and labouring people, these strata are one of the fastest expanding population sectors on the Earth. These strata are expanding with breathtaking speed partially because of the dis-employment effects of the very information technologies which form, along with the land, such an integral part of the Steward's Planetary House. A third link between underclass people and stewardship is that it is in large measure the separation from the land which makes us vulnerable to underclass status.