Despite major gains in education, poverty reduction and productivity over the past three decades, entrenched inequalities, fragile trust in institutions and slow progress in key areas continue to hold back social justice worldwide, according to a new International Labour Organization (ILO) report.
The study, The state of social justice: A work in progress, published ahead of the Second World Summit for Social Development in Doha in November and marking 30 years since the landmark 1995 Copenhagen Summit on Social Development, finds that while the world is wealthier, healthier and better educated than in 1995, the benefits have not been evenly shared and progress in reducing inequality has stalled.
Key achievements since 1995 include halving the rate of child labour among 5- to 14-year-olds (from 20 to 10 per cent), reducing extreme poverty from 39 to 10 per cent, raising primary school completion rates by 10 percentage points, and achieving, for the first time, social protection coverage for over half of the world's population.
However, the report highlights stark and persistent deficits:
- 71 per cent of a person's earnings are still determined by circumstances of birth such as country and sex;
- informality has fallen by only two percentage points in two decades and still affects 58 per cent of workers;
- the gender labour force participation gap has narrowed by just three percentage points since 2005 and remains at 24 per cent;
- at current rates, it will take a century to close the global gender pay gap.
Trust in institutions has been declining worldwide since 1982, reflecting growing frustration that effort is not being rewarded fairly, says the report. The ILO warns that unless action is taken to strengthen the social contract, this erosion of trust could undermine the legitimacy of democratic systems and global cooperation.
Social justice is not only a moral imperative - it is essential for economic security, social cohesion and peace.
Gilbert F. Houngbo, ILO Director-General
The findings come at a time of profound transformation. Environmental, digital and demographic shifts are reshaping labour markets at unprecedented speed. Without deliberate policies, these transitions could deepen inequality. With the right measures, including investment in skills, social protection, fair wage systems and active labour market policies, they can become engines of inclusion and resilience, highlights the study.
"The world has made undeniable progress, but we cannot ignore that millions remain excluded from opportunity and dignity at work," said ILO Director-General Gilbert F. Houngbo. "Social justice is not only a moral imperative - it is essential for economic security, social cohesion and peace."
The report calls for urgent action to tackle unequal access to opportunities, ensure fairer distribution of economic gains, and manage environmental, digital and demographic transitions so that no one is left behind. It stresses the need to place social justice at the core of all policymaking - from finance and industry to health and climate - and to strengthen cooperation among governments, international institutions and social partners to deliver coherent responses to global challenges.
These findings will feed into discussions at the upcoming World Social Summit in November and support the work of the Global Coalition for Social Justice in advancing fairer, more inclusive societies. The Global Coalition is an ILO-led platform bringing together governments, employers, workers' organizations and other partners to accelerate action and cooperation towards achieving social justice and decent work for all.
