How far will this week’s budget go in ‘levelling up’ the UK in line with the government’s stated aims? Whilst much of the public debate has centred on what changes to taxing and spending the new Chancellor Rishi Sunak could make, there has been less analysis about how proposed measures could reduce economic inequality, which is surely a key hallmark …
German supermarkets commit to tackle low wages
Oxfam welcomes the commitment by almost all big German supermarkets to work towards living wages and living incomes for the people who produce the food the retailers sell. Several German retailers, including four of the five biggest supermarkets (Aldi South and North, Kaufland, Lidl and Rewe), published a commitment on 23rd February 2020 aimed at “enabling farming and working families …
10 brilliant questions you asked about Oxfam’s inequality report
Oxfam’s new inequality report, which reveals that the world’s billionaires —just 2,153 people— have more wealth than 4.6 billion people, is making headlines across the globe. Since we launched our report, we have received lots of interesting questions. Here’s our response to ten of the most frequently asked questions. 1. What does women’s unpaid care work have to do with billionaires? …
Making care count: Valuing work and wellbeing over wealth
We are heading into increasingly stormy times. Times when caring for each other will become more critical and challenging. By 2025, economies will be in crisis response mode, coping with 2.4 billion people living in areas without enough water. By 2030, an additional 100 million older people and a further 100 million children between 6-14 years of age will need …
The daily, unpaid work that greases the wheels of the global economy
Let’s do a thought experiment: What would happen if as soon as women gave birth they handed over their babies to the fathers to take total responsibility, at all times, of all needs? No women would be available for hire to take on all the domestic and care duties, so fathers couldn’t buy themselves out of the situation. What if …
Podcast: The politics of counting, review of “The Uncounted” with Alex Cobham
We speak to the Tax Justice Network‘s Alex Cobham about his upcoming book “The Uncounted”, which gives an insight into the politics of counting. Franziska Mager from Oxfam GB, also joins us to give her perspective as a researcher on inequality. We discuss who’s missing from the stats at the very bottom and the very top of society, and how …
Why taxing wealth more effectively can help to reduce inequality and poverty
Since 2014, Oxfam’s Even It Up campaign has been pressing governments to tackle economic inequality because it is hindering efforts to end poverty. Recent World Bank estimates show that according to current economic growth predictions – and if present levels of inequality remain unchanged – in 2030 about 6.5% of the global population will still be living in extreme poverty. …
Technology and inequality
We are at a crossroads on the digital highway. Advocacy Adviser, Claire Spoors highlights some key themes for the international development sector to consider when thinking about the intersection of technology and inequality. Recent World Bank estimates reveal that reducing inequality is a more effective way to eradicate poverty than increasing a country’s annual growth rate. Oxfam’s Fighting inequality to …
The UK must do more to reduce inequality between and within countries
This year, economic inequality is back on the centre stage of the global development discussion. Chiara Mariotti, Oxfam GB’s Inequality Policy Manager, reviews the UK’s progress towards achieving SDG 10.
What are supermarkets doing to tackle human suffering in their supply chains?
Last year, Oxfam embarked on a campaign asking 16 supermarkets to take responsibility for ending human suffering in their food supply chains. A year on, Monica Romis asks, what has changed? Slow progress to respect human rights The 2019 Supermarket Scorecard shows that, while some are doing better than others, all supermarkets lack sufficient policies to properly protect the people who produce our food. No supermarket does even 40% of what the Oxfam benchmark asks them to. Eight of the 16 companies, including Lidl, Plus and Whole …