Inequality: Good with data, episode 1

In the first mini-series of Good with data we explore one of the most important issues in global development today, the Leave No One Behind Agenda; what it means, why it matters, and how we can make it a reality by improving data and making best use of existing data and evidence.

In this episode we discuss inequality, the focus of SDG 10 and an issue that has risen up the international development agenda in recent years. But it’s one thing to acknowledge the problem, and quite another to know what to do about it.

Our guests are:

• Andrés Barrios Arenas, the National Coordinator of Neustro Presupuesto (Our Budget), an initiative for people to analyse, understand and campaign for changes in state budgets in Mexico;
• Anda David, a Senior Researcher at the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) in charge of research programmes on inequality, poverty and international migration;
• Dr. Ellen Ehmke, a Senior Expert on Inequality at the Robert Bosch Foundation.

For more on this subject, our briefing paper explores the relationship between inequality and poverty and some key indicators and associated data issues. An accompanying factsheet draws on this data to summarise recent global inequality trends. To find out why a concerted effort to understand inequality is so critical for development actors to realise the ambition of Agenda 2030, read our blog.

During the episode, we asked our panellists to share their recommendations for listeners to explore inequality issues further:

• Andrés recommended reading about the rights of indigenous peoples and the Mexican Zapatista movement;
• Anda recommended the short story The Great Silence, from the collection Stories of Your Life and Others, by Ted Chiang;
• Ellen recommended the documentary Dear Future Children, resources offered by the Fight Inequality Alliance and the Pathfinders initiative.

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