17 Days, 17 Goals: Goal 10 - Inequality
Goal 10: Reduced Inequalities
- Reduce inequalities within and among countries -
This post is part of our blog series: 17 Days, 17 Goals. The blog series features foundations working on all 17 Sustainable Development Goals leading up to the first anniversary of the SDGs. The Council on Foundations Sustainable Development Goals & Philanthropy initiative is in partnership with the United Nations Foundation and SDG Philanthropy Platform. Find us on social media with #PhilSDGs.
Why do we need Goal 10?
- On average, income inequality increased by 11% in developing countries between 1990-2010
- Expanded healthcare access worldwide is not reaching the poorest and most rural communities
- In 2014, S&P 500 CEOs made 373 times the average US worker - almost a ninefold increase since 1980
- The average income of the top 1% of US earners was 184 times that of the bottom 90% in 2014
What are some of the targets?
- Progressively achieve and sustain income growth of the bottom 40% of the population at a rate higher than the national average
- Empower and promote the social, economic, and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, origin, religion, or economic or other status
- Reduced to less than 3% the transaction costs of migrant remittances and eliminate remittance corridors with costs higher than 5%
- Improve the regulation and monitoring of global financial markets and institutions and strengthen the implementation of such regulations
Featured: Ford Foundation & The San Francisco Foundation
Goal 10: Reduced Inequalities is a key issue that plagues both developing and developed countries. The goals the world has set for development are not achieved if their positive impacts exist only for a priveleged portion of the population. In the US, this issue has been especially contentious following the 2008 financial crisis. Two of our members are focusing their work on inequality, both in the US and around the world.
Ford Foundation
Ford Foundation identifies the roots of inequality as:
- Unequal access to government decision-making processes
- Entrenched cultural narratives that undermind fairness, tolerance, and inclusion
- Rules of the economy that magnify unequal opportunity and outcomes
- Persistent prejudice and discrimination against women, as well as racial, ethnic, and caste minorities
- A failure to invest in and protect vital public goods, such as education and natural resources
From its eleven offices globally, the Ford Foundation funds institutions, individuals, and ideas that are working to challenge inequality. In California, for example, Ford joined the Heising-Simons Foundation, the Rosenberg Foundation, the Roy & Patricia Disney Family Foundation, and The California Endowment to launch the public-private partnership Renewing Communities. This program brings together philanthropic and public sector organizations from across the fields of education, criminal justice, and social justice to support higher education institutions providing opportunities to incarcerated and formerly incarcerated students. By transforming these Californians into college students and graduates, the partnership aims to improve public health and safety, build economic and social mobility, and strengthen communities, therefore bridging work across sectors and putting people at the center of their communities.
Please read more about the amazing work of our member:
Ford Foundation Challenging Inequality
The San Francisco Foundation
The Bay Area in California is becoming an increasingly more expensive place to live, forcing low-income communities, many of which are predominantly communities of color, farther away from the centers of job opportunity and resources. The income gap between San Francisco’s rich and poor is also growing faster than in any other city in the nation. The San Francisco Foundation's efforts are designed to address this systemic problem in their community and have refocused their grantmaking to focus on racial and economic equity in the region.
In July, the Foundation announced a first tranche of grants under their new grantmaking strategy, focused on People, Place, and Power. Overall, the foundation aims to ensure that all people have a job that pays a living wage, that they can live in a home in a vibrant neighborhood that they can afford, and that local communities are anchored through strong social and political engagement.
Through its equity strategy, the Foundation has worked to increase access to opportunity for all by focusing on jobs, education and infrastructure. For example, the foundation has funded work on criminal justice reform to remove barriers to employment amongst those who have gone through the judicial process. Additional grants support work to ensure the Bay Area is an inclusive community that reflects the values, race, and culture of its residents. The Non-Profit Housing Association of Northern California is a Foundation grantee working to ensure there are affordable homes for low- and middle-income families in Alameda County. Grants to enhance civic engagement and voter participation are part of a strategy to nurture equity movements and move power to the people who are historically left out of decision making.
Addressing inequality is at the heart of the San Francisco Foundation's work. The Foundation wants to help create an inclusive Bay Area that allows all residents to have a voice in the decisions that affect their lives and the lives of their families.
Please read more about the amazing work of our member:
Resources & Information
