10. Reduced inequalities

SDG 10. Reduced inequalities

Reduce inequality within and among countries

Targets*

10.1 Progressively achieve and sustain income growth of the bottom 40 per cent of the population at a rate higher than the national average
10.2 Empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status
10.3 Ensure equal opportunity and reduce inequalities of outcome
10.4 Adopt policies, especially fiscal, wage and social protection policies, and progressively achieve greater equality
10.5 Improve the regulation and monitoring of global financial markets and institutions and strengthen the implementation of such regulations
10.6 Ensure enhanced representation and voice for developing countries in decisionmaking in global international economic and financial institutions
10.7 Facilitate orderly, safe, regular and responsible migration and mobility of people

Key insights

• Southeast Asia is the only sub-region in Asia Pacific in which income inequality is widening.¹
• The ratio of the top 10% and the bottom 40% of the population in terms of income share (Palma ratio), is 2.6 in Malaysia, 1.9 in the Philippines, and 1.8 in Indonesia. For Myanmar, Thailand, Lao PDR, and Vietnam the ratio is between 1.7 and 1.4.²

Business actions**

1. Assess the distribution of economic value across stakeholder groups and implement policies and practices to make it more equal
2. Support the establishment and expansion of social protection measures at the national level
3. Implement policies and practices to support equality of opportunity, treatment and outcome for all across company and supply chain operations
4. Design and implement products, services, and business models that explicitly target the needs of disadvantaged and marginalised populations

Example

• An American automobile manufacturer developed employee resource groups throughout the world to improve professional development support and employee engagement in local communities, At the same time, these employee resource groups improve the company’s understanding of diverse consumer markets and contribute to tailored talent acquisition strategies.³

Thought Leadership

Delivering better outcomes together

Find out why and how the New Zealand government should adapt its policies to the pace of a changing ethnic landscape.   

The economic benefits of improving social inclusion

Find out how social inclusion can influence the economy by harnessing diversity as fuel for creativity and innovation.

Inclusive growth: Reframing success

Find out about the flaws of our measurements of national growth and how the notion of inclusive growth could address these flaws.

* All targets for SDG 1 to 17 have been derived from the United Nations Statistics Division (2018), from: https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/indicators/indicators-list/
** All business actions for SDG 1 to 17 have been derived from the United Nations Global Compact (2017), from: https://www.unglobalcompact.org/library/5461
1 UNESCAP (2017), from: https://www.unescap.org/publications/asia-and-pacific-sdg-progress-report-2017
2 UNDP (NA), from: http://hdr.undp.org/sites/default/files/tables_1-15_6a_dashboard1_dashboard2_online_version.xlsx
3 Ford (NA), from: https://corporate.ford.com/careers/diversity/employee-resource-groups.html