pecking order

Calque of German Hackordnung.

pecking order (plural pecking orders)

1. (zoology) The natural hierarchy of social status and dominance occurring in a group of birds.
2. The usually informal hierarchy of authority or command, often partial or approximate, as determined by the especially natural propensity for domination of different members of a specific group over each other, such as older brothers and sisters over their younger siblings.

• (societal structure): hierarchy

• (societal structure): equality