What is inequality?

Inequality is when some people have access to more opportunities, money and power than other people. It’s one of the leading causes of poverty worldwide.

We are all affected by inequality. As long as some people, usually wealthy people living in or connected to the Global North, have much more than they need, others are left without enough.

The opposite of inequality is equality. Equality means everyone has the same rights, opportunities and status.

At Oxfam, we work for a world where everyone is equal, because this would mean an end to poverty. And a more equal world is not just the right thing to do – it makes life better for all of us.

There are several ways to measure the imbalance of inequality.

Money

We can use money to understand what some people have compared to others. This can include comparing how much money people make, how much cash they can afford to spend each day or how much debt they have.

This can help us see how wealth and poverty exist side by side and are directly linked.

For example, Oxfam found that in 2023, it would have taken 1,200 years for a woman working in the health and social sector to earn what the average top boss of one of the biggest 100 US companies earns in a year.

Their wages are so different because our financial systems don’t place as much value on health and social work, even though it’s essential for our societies. This is inequality in action.

Academics also use some complex mathematical calculations to work out financial inequality levels. One of these is called the Gini coefficient. It works out how much income households have and how balanced the spread of this income is.

Power

Another way to measure inequality is to consider how much power or influence we have in the world. Powerful organisations like the World Bank or UNICEF tend to be dominated by people from the Global North (the wealthier parts of the world). This means that the voices of citizens from the Global South are less heard.

The ‘G7’, which is a group of the seven richest countries, has 41% of the votes in major financial decision-making at the IMF and World Bank, two of the big monetary organisations. But these countries have less than 10% of the world’s population between them.

Opportunities

We can also measure inequality by comparing the opportunities that we can access. One example is the experiences of young refugee adults and how much harder it is for them to get an education when they have had to leave their homes.

Only 41% of teenage refugees go to secondary school compared to the global rate of 77%.

Missing out on schooling can leave people vulnerable to other challenges, including poverty. Early experiences of inequality, such as access to education, can lead to more inequalities later in life.

Inequality can show up in many different ways, but some of the key types of inequality include:

Gender inequality

Gender has a big impact on how we experience the world and the opportunities we have access to and the recognition that they get.

People of all genders experience challenges, but those identifying as women and non-binary people are much more likely to experience things like sexual harassment, poor healthcare and lower rates of pay.

Income inequality

This describes the imbalances between how much money people get for their work and through other ways such as investments. This is an issue all over the world. Some people make huge amounts of money, and some people make very little – even for the same type of work. The fact that they get paid such differing amounts means that for those who are paid less, it’s likely to be harder to thrive.

We sometimes assume that people who are paid a lot are especially talented or unusually hard workers, but Oxfam research has shown this isn’t always the case. Some people who have high incomes get these through their families or connections.

Social inequality

In a more equal world, we would all have the same rights and status in our societies. This could include being able to connect and live with the people we love, having control over the work we do, being able to get the healthcare we need and being able to change our lives if we wish.

If the world was more socially equal, a few powerful people wouldn’t control decision-making as they do now and we would all be able to drive changes in our communities.

Inequalities are caused by many things, and these often connect and overlap.

We mentioned income inequality above, and that is both a type of and a cause of inequality. Here are some other causes:

World systems, past and present

History includes many times when people were mistreated and exploited, and the systems that were used to do this continue today.

For example, powerful countries colonised other parts of the world and took wealth, resources and even people to make themselves richer. This continues today. Rich countries employ people in Global South countries for jobs because they can pay those living there lower wages.

Other systems that cause inequality include the ways that we move money around the world and the ways that world leaders make big decisions. These both harm people in lower income countries because they often concentrate money and power in Global North centres of influence.

One of the ways that Oxfam wants to tackle these unequal systems is by ‘decolonising’. This means undoing these systems and challenging the ways of thinking that carry on an exploitative mindset.

Climate inequality

There is a huge imbalance between those who cause climate change and those who experience its most disastrous effects.

We know that carbon emissions worsen climate change. The people whose lives emit the most carbon mostly live in the Global North. A small number of very rich people also have lifestyles that create especially large amounts of carbon, through using things like private planes and fancy yachts.

The impacts of climate change, such as floods or droughts, don't affect everyone equally. Countries in the Global South have been hardest hit by these impacts, even though the people living there have much smaller carbon emissions than others.

Plans to address this imbalance and share money and supplies with people affected by climate change are sometimes called climate justice.

Discrimination and prejudice

In all our societies, even the ones we feel are more equal, some people can be pushed to the edges. This might be because of assumptions that people make about them or past abuse which continues now.

For example, people living with disabilities can have more difficult experiences in the world. This is because our societies haven’t adapted to give them the same rights and access (such as being able to travel around freely and do the jobs they choose).

There is no country in the world that isn’t affected by inequality. Depending on the type and cause of the inequality, different countries can be affected in different ways, and different calculations can also give different results.

Oxfam is working with partners to make more countries more equal. Here are some examples of countries experiencing high inequality, and how we want to improve that.

South Africa

South Africa is affected by high income inequality. This means that there is a big difference between the incomes of wealthy people and those who have very little.

South Africa has some very rich people, some of whom benefited from the apartheid system that divided black and white people and which officially ended in 1994. But countries that had historic divisions and discriminatory systems are often affected by these for many, many years after they officially change.

South Africa has a lot of people who are living with poverty. Many of these people are Black and are still experiencing discrimination and fewer opportunities today.

Oxfam South Africa is working with partners to make changes, campaigning for fairer financial systems so that wealthy people pay their fair share. The money from these taxes could then be used to make society more equal.

Colombia

Columbia has been affected by fighting and violence from internal groups for many years, and this has left more people experiencing poverty. People escaping conflict in nearby countries have also travelled to Colombia seeking safety. Conflict causes poverty in many ways, for example by depriving some people of access to good work and disrupting food supplies, so food can become costly.

In this way, Colombia is an example of how conflict contributes to inequality. It also has big gaps between the experiences and opportunities of men and women, and so has significant gender inequality.

Oxfam Colombia has partnered with organisations who are experts in the challenges that Colombians are experiencing, such as Ambulua who work with women and girls to call for more safety. We also raise up the voices of others who are calling for peace.

Zambia

Zambia is an example of a country that now has high inequality – but that hasn’t always been the case. This has changed a lot over time. For example, in the 2000s, there was high demand for copper, and people were able to mine and sell a lot of it.

This made Zambians generally more well-off, but the wealth wasn’t shared equally. Many people still lived in poverty while a small number benefitted most.

But as the prices that other countries would pay for these minerals fell, the country’s economy suffered and the people who had less were made even more vulnerable.

The country has also seen the impacts of climate change (climate inequality in action). A lot of Zambians still rely on their own small farms to make their living.

Extreme weather, such as very hot summers then dramatic floods, make farming harder and less profitable, leaving farmers people worse off and so more removed from the minority who still hold power and wealth.

Oxfam is part of a worldwide movement determined to make it so that no one has to experience poverty. As poverty is linked to inequality, Oxfam works to tackle inequality worldwide. Here are some ways Oxfam does this.

Limiting the effects of inequality in emergencies

In crisis situations, the gaps between the people made vulnerable by their unequal societies and those who have more assets, wealth and power can become much wider. For example, we know that in wars and conflicts, women and non-binary people are more likely to experience sexual violence as part of the fighting.

Oxfam works with partners, often experts in their subjects and regions, to try and quickly limit some of the impact of emergencies so that everyone has equal access to the essentials.

Some crises leave people without enough access to clean water, for example – but those who have more money may be more able to buy bottled water even if the limited supplies make it very expensive. In a situation like this, Oxfam’s partners would be working to provide enough water for everyone, so that those who have less can also stay healthy and well.

You can help Oxfam and our partners act in crises by giving even a small amount to our emergencies fund, which helps us to be ready to act whatever and wherever the emergency is.

Campaigning to persuade decision-makers to make the world more equal

Another way that Oxfam tackles inequality is by using its voice and visibility, as a big and well-known charity, to put pressure on people in powerful positions.

Oxfam wants to see the systems that cause inequality changed and updated. This will need people who have lots of influence, such as politicians and heads of big companies, to make changes to how businesses and countries are run. Oxfam campaigns to promote other ways of doing things, such as different financial and taxation systems, and to make those in power consider changes.

This happens in lots of ways, such as private meetings, big protests, doing research and sharing our findings, running events that are covered in the media to draw attention to issues, writing letters to decision-makers, petitions and more.

Oxfam works with partners and experts across the world to support their work in projects that seek to change power imbalances.

For example, with funding from the Australian government, Oxfam Australia has partnered with organisations in Papua New Guinea such as Family for Change. They run training, counselling and learning sessions to tackle abuses of women and so address their unequal treatment in society.

Oxfam is also working to address and take responsibility for our own role in causing inequality. Oxfam has, in the past, contributed to imbalances by creating a sense of ‘us’ and ‘them’ and holding onto power instead of sharing it. Oxfam is working to change this and be part of a world that is more equal.