Chapter 03

The details

©UNDP Guinea Bissau/Gwenn Dubourthoumieu

Growing
wealth gap

A
2018 Oxfam
International report

shows that

26 people own the same wealth as 3.8 billion

who make up the poorest half of humanity.

Economic inequality

More than a quarter of all adults are working poor, making less than

$3.10 per day

And the number of low-paid workers is rising.

Yet between 2017 and 2018

01 billionare

was created every two days.

©UNDP Eurasia/Jodi Hilton

Resource
inequality

But inequality isn’t just about money – it can be seen in life expectancies, in education, and whether a person can afford healthcare and receive public services. People living with disabilities are particularly vulnerable.
Spatial

inequality

© Caio Pederneiras / Shutterstock.com We are seeing greater geographic, or spatial inequality, which is the unequal distribution of resources in one area. It is deeply tied to racial and cultural inequality and can be seen most clearly in cities. For instance, the poorer a person’s neighbourhood, the less likely they will attend a good school, which in turn stunts their opportunities to advance economically.

Gender
inequality

There’s also a strong gender element in play — women don’t earn as much as men, they don’t receive the same levels of education, are more likely to be unemployed, and are too often locked out of economic and political leadership.

©UNDP Afghanistan/S. Omer Sadaat
Where women do lead men is in the amount of unpaid work they do -

The UN estimates this work is worth between 10 to 39 percent of a country’s Gross Domestic Product.

©UNDP Guatemala/Caroline Trutmann
Up Next:

A global
challenge

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