Report: The Inequality Virus

The coronavirus pandemic has the potential to increase inequality in almost every country at once as it exposes, feds off of and increases existing inequalities in wealth, gender and race. Oxfam International’s report highlights that while many of the world’s richest individuals and organisations are thriving, the poorest are getting poorer.

The report calls on citizens and government to act to create a more equal and sustainable economy, to protect health and livelihoods.

Key findings:

• It took just nine months for the top 1,000 billionaires’ fortunes to return to their pre-pandemic highs but for the world’s poorest people recovery could take 14 times longer; more than a decade.
• The increase in the 10 richest billionaires’ wealth since the crisis began is more than enough to prevent anyone on Earth from falling into poverty because of the virus, and to pay for a Covid-19 vaccine for everyone.
• Globally, women are overrepresented in the sectors of the economy that are hardest hit by the pandemic. If women were represented at the same rate as men in those sectors, 112 million women would no longer be at high risk of losing their incomes or jobs.
• The World Bank has calculated that if countries act now to reduce inequality then poverty could return to pre-crisis levels in just three years, rather than in over a decade.

The report makes recommendations for government, organisations and citizens to help create a fairer, more sustainable economy.