There are two primary components that explain inequality in social capital: structural factors and homophily. The structural explanation posits that the historical and institutional makeup of societies provides unequal opportunities to different demographic groups based on race, class, gender, caste, and other categories. The homophily explanation describes the tendency of most individuals to associate with people who share common social and cultural characteristics, causing them to remain within closed network systems. Although awareness can sometimes motivate communities to create cross-group networks for better resource access, homophily generally restricts the ability of actors to bridge into other groups.