Lost cause

There is never equality in the world anyway. Most of the inequalities are man-made. While gender is a naturally occurring inequality, humans have made the gap wider though biases and generally perceived notions of patriarchy (‘Income inequality a global challenge,’ July 6, Gulf Today).

So when the talk is about income inequality, it is nothing surprising. More appalling is the fact that the inequality is greater in developing countries. The narrative says, according to the International Labour Organization (ILO), data gathered from 189 countries shows that roughly 300 million workers earn around $7,500 per month. In contrast, almost half of the world’s workers — around 1.6 billion people — make just $200 a month, and the bottom 10 per cent’s monthly earnings amount to just $22.

It goes on to say that as ILO economist Roger Gomis points out, they will need to work for 28 years to earn the same as the top 10 per cent does in a single month! That’s an entire lifetime for some and a single meal or two or flying business class for the well heeled.

Climate change adds to the inequality. The white collared jobs will have air conditioning to keep them comfortable. But the others, the ones who earn the least, the labourers and field workers will have a hard time, thus making them lose productivity and thus less money, causing the gap to widen. It’s a lost cause.

J Dias
By email