The State of Social Justice 2025:
The International Labour Organization (ILO) released its landmark report The State of Social Justice: A Work in Progress (2025) ahead of the Second World Summit for Social Development marking 30 years since the 1995 Copenhagen Summit.
- “The State of Social Justice 2025” Purpose is to Evaluates 30 years of global progress since the 1995 Social Development Summit and assesses ongoing deficits in justice, equality, and inclusion.
- Four Foundational Pillars:
- Fundamental human rights and capabilities — ensuring freedoms, equality, and social protection.
- Equal access to opportunities — removing barriers to education, employment, and fair wages.
- Fair distribution — equitable sharing of economic growth benefits.
- Fair transitions — managing environmental, digital, and demographic changes inclusively.
- Global Progress:
- Extreme poverty fell from 39% (1995) to 10% (2025).
- Child labour (5–14 years) declined from 250 million to 106 million.
- Working poverty dropped from 28% to 7%.
- Over 50% of the global population now covered by some form of social protection.
- Persistent Inequalities:
- Top 1% control 20% of global income and 38% of wealth.
- Gender wage gap: Women earn 78% of men’s wages; at current pace, it will take 50–100 years to close.
- 55% of income inequality determined by country of birth, showing global location bias.
- Erosion of Trust: Confidence in governments, unions, and businesses has declined since 1982 due to perceptions of unfair reward systems and widening inequality.
