Library | ESG issues

Inequality

Inequality refers to disparities in income, wealth, and access to essential services such as healthcare, education, and economic opportunities. While some progress has been made, inequalities persist and deepen for vulnerable populations, including refugees, migrants, Indigenous peoples, older persons, people with disabilities, and children. These disparities hinder sustainable development, threaten social stability, and limit economic growth. Addressing inequality requires inclusive policies, equitable access to resources, and protections against discrimination and social exclusion.

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State transformation for Plan México: A mission-oriented approach to delivering shared prosperity

UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose
Plan México outlines a mission-oriented strategy to achieve shared prosperity through state transformation. Addressing structural constraints like low investment and production polarisation, the report recommends aligning macroeconomic policy, coordinating development finance, and leveraging strategic procurement. It emphasises building public-sector capabilities and fostering community participation to drive sustainable, inclusive growth.
Research
2 August 2026

TRF Insights: Rising pressure, rising needs: A TrustLaw rapid member survey

Thomson Reuters Foundation
This report examines the evolving legal needs of civil society organisations globally. Based on a rapid survey of TrustLaw members, it assesses the impact of funding cuts and restrictive regulations on non-profits and social enterprises, highlighting the growing demand for pro bono legal support.
Research
8 December 2025

Gender gaps: International evidence on the role of family policy

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)
This research analyses the impact of family-friendly policies on gender gaps across 27 countries from 1986 to 2019. It finds that childcare spending and parental leave significantly reduce employment and earnings gaps. Slower policy expansion in the United States accounts for its lagging progress in reducing gender inequality.
Research
20 October 2026

Poverty and Inequality Platform

The World Bank
The Poverty and Inequality Platform is a World Bank tool providing interactive global data on poverty rates and income distribution. It offers harmonised datasets and inequality metrics essential for ESG analysis and emerging market risk assessment.
Online tool/database

Global Internal Displacement Database

Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre
The Global Internal Displacement Database provides validated data on people displaced by conflict and disasters worldwide, assisting in the assessment of sovereign risk and social stability.
Online tool/database

ROSI™ Real Estate: How Affordable Housing Providers Can Create Financial Value While Supporting Resident Stability

NYU Stern Center for Sustainable Business
A research-based framework from NYU Stern that quantifies the financial value of sustainability in real estate, specifically showing how affordable housing providers improve financial performance by supporting resident stability.
Online tool/database

PISA 2025 results (Volume I): Future-ready students

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
The PISA 2025 results highlight a significant decline in global student performance, particularly in reading and mathematics. This volume examines the proficiency of 15-year-olds across 91 systems, exploring how digitalisation, socio-economic factors, and attitudes towards learning and the environment shape student readiness for an AI-integrated future.
Research
9 October 2026

Expanding social security coverage in the informal economy: China’s experience and lessons

International Labour Organisation (ILO)
This report analyses strategies for extending social security to informal workers, comparing China’s transition to near-universal coverage with evolving systems in Kenya and Lao PDR. It highlights the role of digital transformation, fiscal subsidies, and pilot programmes in overcoming barriers to inclusive, sustainable social protection systems.
Research
15 September 2026

Migrant integration statistics - housing

This report analyses housing indicators for migrants in the EU for 2025, focusing on home ownership, overcrowding, and housing cost overburden. It reveals significant disparities, with nationals maintaining higher ownership rates and lower overcrowding levels compared to non-EU citizens, supported by data from the EU-SILC framework.
Research
29 September 2026

The gender pay gap in Bangladesh: Trends, causes and policy options

International Labour Organisation (ILO)
This report analyses the gender pay gap in Bangladesh, finding women earn 22 to 25 per cent less than men. Driven by structural discrimination and unequal care burdens, the gap persists despite legal frameworks. Recommendations include objective job evaluations, cost-sharing for maternity benefits, and strengthened labour inspection.
Research
16 September 2026

Poverty and public finance: A primer

ODI Global
This report provides a foundational guide for public finance professionals on defining, measuring, and addressing poverty. It explains the relationship between fiscal policy and household well-being, highlighting the use of fiscal incidence analysis and micro-simulation. The primer aims to integrate poverty reduction strategies into core financial planning.
Research
2 September 2026

Access to Medicine Foundation Research Hub

Access to Medicine Foundation
The Research Hub is a repository of reports and data on how pharmaceutical companies address global health equity. It offers company profiles, benchmarks, and thematic research to help investors assess ESG performance and access-related risks in the healthcare sector.
Resource hub

The true cost of impact-first investing: A comparative analysis of the economics and subsidy structure of impact-first investing

This research by the Miller Center and partners analyses 362 deals to illuminate the true costs of impact-first investing. It finds these funds are operationally efficient but face a structurally underfunded 'premium for inclusion'. The study argues fund-level subsidies are essential for bridging the enterprise-level Valley of Death.
Research
16 June 2026

From green to clean to eco-social: How to put wellbeing back onto the EU’s sustainability agenda

Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS)
This policy brief examines the shift in EU sustainability discourse from the European Green Deal to the Clean Industrial Deal. It argues for re-anchoring wellbeing in the agenda through the sustainable and inclusive wellbeing framework, suggesting eco-social conditionalities and alternative economic modelling to move beyond GDP-focused competitiveness.
Research
21 May 2026

Good practice for credible verification of living wages

ISEAL Alliance
This guidance establishes a tool-agnostic framework for the credible verification of living wage gaps. It details good practices for assessing remuneration data, in-kind benefits via the ARI 2025 approach, and living wage estimates. Key requirements include methodological rigour, triangulation, and independent oversight to ensure accurate, comparable outcomes.
Research
13 April 2026

Lifelong learning and skills for the future: Insights for Latin America and the Caribbean

International Labour Organisation (ILO)
This research brief explores lifelong learning and future skill requirements in Latin America and the Caribbean. It addresses structural challenges like high informality and rapid population ageing. Utilising big-data analytics and institutional surveys, the report provides recommendations for building inclusive, flexible learning systems aligned with technological and green transitions.
Research
3 May 2026
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