Beyond Measuring Inequality: A Joint Call for an Inclusive International Panel on Inequality
The International Association of Schools of Social Work (IASSW), International Council on Social Welfare (ICSW), International Consortium for Social Development (ICSD), and International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW) welcome the international initiative to establish an International Panel on Inequality (IPI) within the United Nations system.
The proposed Panel represents an important opportunity to strengthen the global response to one of the defining challenges of our time. Inequality undermines human rights, social cohesion, wellbeing, sustainable development and the ability of people and communities to shape their own futures.
The initiative follows the work of the Extraordinary Committee of Independent Experts on Global Inequality, chaired by Nobel Laureate Professor Joseph Stiglitz during South Africa’s G20 Presidency. The proposal is being advanced internationally with the support of the governments of South Africa, Brazil, Spain and Norway, with a High-Level Leaders’ Event scheduled during the United Nations General Assembly in New York on 23 September 2026.
Our organisations welcome this initiative and call for broad international support for the establishment of the Panel.
Building on a longstanding commitment to addressing inequality
For decades, the international social work, social welfare and social development community has worked collectively to address the structural causes of inequality.
The Global Agenda for Social Work and Social Development, developed by IFSW, IASSW and ICSW, made promoting social and economic equality one of its foundational commitments. Its current overarching framework, “Co-building Inclusive Social Transformation”, continues the call for fundamental changes in the social, economic and political structures that shape people’s lives.
More recently, IASSW, ICSW, ICSD and IFSW strengthened this collective commitment through their collaboration at the Second World Summit for Social Development in Doha, bringing together social work practice, education and research, social welfare, social policy and social development to advocate for inclusive, rights-based and people-centred approaches to social progress.
Inequality cannot be understood through economics alone
Economic analysis is indispensable to understanding inequality. Income, wealth, taxation, employment and the distribution of resources are fundamental dimensions of the challenge. But inequality is far more than an economic issue.
It is also about power and participation, access to healthcare, education, housing and social protection, discrimination and exclusion, gender and intergenerational disparities, environmental and territorial inequalities, and whose voices and knowledge shape the decisions that affect society.
Inequality is ultimately experienced in people’s everyday lives—in their relationships, families, workplaces and communities. Its causes and consequences therefore cannot be fully captured by economic indicators alone. Understanding inequality requires an integrated perspective that brings together economic, social, political, environmental, and human rights dimensions.
We call for the emerging International Panel on Inequality to be genuinely interdisciplinary and participatory, bringing economic expertise into dialogue with social work and the wider social sciences, social policy and social development, human rights, public health, education and other relevant disciplines.
Equally importantly, global knowledge about inequality must not be produced only about people and communities. It must also be developed with them. Community knowledge, Indigenous and other knowledge systems, and the lived experience of people directly affected by inequality should have meaningful places within the Panel’s work.
Antoinette Lombard, President of IASSW, said: “Social work education and research have a critical role in deepening our understanding of inequality and developing transformative responses. They prepare socially conscious professionals and leaders who can recognize inequality in its intersecting forms and connect knowledge with action across practice, policy and communities. A global panel should connect knowledge across disciplines, regions and diverse ways of knowing, deepening understanding not only of the scale of inequality, but also its structural causes, lived consequences and the pathways towards more just and inclusive societies.”
Sergei Zelenev, President of ICSW, added: “Growing inequality within and between nations poses a fundamental challenge to social cohesion and international relations, undermining the long-term prospects for inclusive and sustainable development. The proposed International Panel on Inequality should integrate rigorous economic analysis with comprehensive and integrated social policy approaches to address the multiple and intersecting dimensions of inequality. By translating knowledge and evidence into effective policies, the Panel can help improve people’s well-being, strengthen social protection systems, advance greater equity, and ensure that no one is left behind.”
Leila Patel, President of ICSD, argued: “Inequality is a multidimensional challenge that requires an equally multidimensional response. Social development scholarship has long shown the importance of integrating economic development with social institutions, human wellbeing, participation and social and gender justice. A global Panel offers the opportunity to strengthen the relationship between research, policy, practice and community knowledge.”
Eva Ponce de Leon, President of IFSW, added: “Social workers across the world witness the realities of inequality every day, but they also witness the strength, knowledge and capacity of communities to create change. An International Panel on Inequality can help the world move from recognising inequality towards transforming the structures that produce it. Social workers stand ready to contribute their experience, their commitment to human rights and social justice, and above all their work alongside communities whose voices must be part of this global discussion.”
From evidence to social transformation
Our four organisations bring together social workers, educators, researchers, social welfare and social development practitioners, policymakers, institutions and communities across the world. Through our consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), we have consistently brought diverse civil society perspectives, knowledge and experience into United Nations policy dialogue.
We stand ready to contribute this collective expertise to the development and future work of the International Panel on Inequality and to engage with the United Nations, governments and other partners to help ensure that the Panel reflects the full complexity of inequality and the realities of people and communities across different contexts.
We encourage our members, partners and the wider social work and social development community to support the international call for the establishment of the Panel and share the initiative through their networks.
The establishment of an International Panel on Inequality should be more than an opportunity to better measure inequality. It should help the international community move beyond responding to the consequences of inequality towards transforming the structures that produce and sustain it. Finally, we call on the International Panel on Inequality to support research and integrated social innovation to find solutions to one of the key global challenges of our time.
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