A new International Labour Organization (ILO) report highlights that, despite significant advances in education, poverty reduction, and productivity over the past three decades, entrenched inequalities, declining trust in institutions, and slow progress in key areas continue to hinder social justice worldwide. The study, The State of Social Justice: A Work in Progress, published ahead of the Second World Summit for Social Development in Doha and marking 30 years since the 1995 Copenhagen Summit, finds that while the world is wealthier, healthier, and better educated than in 1995, the benefits of progress have not been evenly shared, and inequality reduction has largely stalled.
Since 1995, notable achievements include halving child labour among 5- to 14-year-olds, reducing extreme poverty from 39 to 10 percent, raising primary school completion rates by 10 percentage points, and extending social protection coverage to over half of the global population. However, the report underscores persistent deficits: 71 percent of earnings are still determined by circumstances of birth such as country and sex, informality remains high at 58 percent of workers, the gender labour force participation gap has narrowed by only three percentage points since 2005, and at current rates, it will take a century to close the global gender pay gap.
Trust in institutions has been declining globally since 1982, reflecting growing frustration that effort is not fairly rewarded. The ILO warns that without action to strengthen the social contract, this erosion of trust could undermine democratic legitimacy and global cooperation. Social justice is framed not only as a moral imperative but also as essential for economic security, social cohesion, and peace, as emphasized by ILO Director-General Gilbert F. Houngbo.
Amid rapid environmental, digital, and demographic changes reshaping labour markets, the report notes that these transformations could deepen inequality without deliberate policies. Targeted measures—such as investments in skills, social protection, fair wage systems, and active labour market policies—can instead make these transitions engines of inclusion and resilience. Houngbo stressed that millions remain excluded from opportunity and dignity at work, highlighting the urgent need for comprehensive social justice strategies.
The report calls for immediate action to tackle unequal access to opportunities, ensure fairer distribution of economic gains, and manage global transitions so that no one is left behind. It emphasizes placing social justice at the core of policymaking across finance, industry, health, and climate, while strengthening cooperation among governments, international institutions, and social partners to deliver coherent responses to global challenges.
These findings will inform discussions at the upcoming World Social Summit in November and support the work of the Global Coalition for Social Justice, an ILO-led platform uniting governments, employers, workers’ organizations, and other partners to accelerate action toward fairer, more inclusive societies and the achievement of decent work for all.
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