In 2020, the share of workers living in extreme poverty rose for the first time in two decades, rising from 6.7 per cent in 2019 to 7.2 per cent, pushing an additional 8 million workers into poverty. Although the working poverty rate declined slightly in 2021 to 6.9 per cent, it remains higher than before the pandemic (SDG Report 2022).
While we had high hopes for the 2030 Agenda, the UN’s latest data shows that inequalities have persisted and progress has been uneven. As things stand, the world is not on track to ending poverty by 2030. The urgency is ever-growing and we need to work together!
At the latest Living Wage Summit, the energy felt like a buzzing hub; a gathering together of 300+ influential and passionate people. There was a high diversity of stakeholder voice present during the sessions, with everyone actively participating in many sessions. It is critical that all voices are heard and that all different roles are accounted for.
The Roadmap on Living Wages served as a guiding principle to frame the scope of the day and we wanted to create an inclusive opportunity for companies and organizations to accelerate and scale up their action on living wages, combining ideas, thought leadership and multi-stakeholder dialogue about the role of business in eradicating poverty and inequality globally.
The Living Wage Summit ended with some questions. Asked about their engagement with living wage, the majority of participants indicated they are “promoting/advocating” living wages. The second highest vote showed that many were already “implementing living wages in their organization or supply chain”. This is really encouraging news.
Finally, feedback highlighted that the Summit was useful for networking and discovering information, tools and opportunities for collaboration to help different stakeholders work on the subject. This highlights the value of coming together and the need for collaborative moments.
Interested to know more or to collaborate: Email us at livingwage@idhtrade.org
Want to know about the Summit, the different sessions and its speakers, check the icons below.