https://www.theguardian.com/inequality Latest Inequality news, comment and analysis from the Guardian, the world's leading liberal voice en-gb Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. 2019 Fri, 03 May 2019 05:40:30 GMT 2019-05-03T05:40:30Z en-gb Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. 2019 https://assets.guim.co.uk/images/guardian-logo-rss.c45beb1bafa34b347ac333af2e6fe23f.png https://www.theguardian.com https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/jul/26/nhs-in-england-facing-deepening-staffing-crisis-figures-show <p>Vacancies for doctors, nurses, midwives and therapists at highest level for three years</p><p>The NHS is facing a deepening staffing crisis as hospitals report growing shortages of doctors, nurses, midwives and therapists, official figures have revealed.<br></p><p>Vacancies across the NHS in England for those key groups of health professionals are running at the highest level since records began three years ago, according to NHS Digital statistics released on Thursday.<br></p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/jul/26/nhs-in-england-facing-deepening-staffing-crisis-figures-show">Continue reading...</a> NHS UK news Public sector careers Health Society Nursing Midwifery Doctors Thu, 26 Jul 2018 11:22:24 GMT https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/jul/26/nhs-in-england-facing-deepening-staffing-crisis-figures-show Photograph: Peter Byrne/PA Photograph: Peter Byrne/PA Denis Campbell Health policy editor 2018-07-26T11:22:24Z https://www.theguardian.com/inequality/2018/mar/04/dehumanising-impenetrable-frustrating-the-grim-reality-of-job-hunting-in-the-age-of-ai <p>The automation revolution has hit recruitment, with everything from facial expressions to vocal tone now analysed by algorithms and artificial intelligence. But what’s the cost to workforce diversity – and workers themselves?</p><p>According to Nathan Mondragon, finding the right employee is all about looking at the little things. Tens of thousands of little things, as it turns out. Mondragon is the head psychologist at Hirevue, a company that offers software that screens job candidates using algorithms and artificial intelligence (AI). Hirevue’s flagship product, used by global giants such as Unilever and Goldman Sachs, asks candidates to answer standard interview questions in front of a camera. Meanwhile its software, like a team of hawk-eyed psychologists hiding behind a mirror, makes note of thousands of barely perceptible changes in posture, facial expression, vocal tone and word choice.</p><p>“We break the answers people give down into many thousands of data points, into verbal and non-verbal cues,” says Mondragon. “If you’re answering a question about how you would spend a million dollars, your eyes would tend to shift upward, your verbal cues would go silent, or turn to ‘ums’ and ‘ahs’. Your head would tilt slightly upward with your eyes. The facial movement analytics would tell us you were going into a creative thinking style.”</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/inequality/2018/mar/04/dehumanising-impenetrable-frustrating-the-grim-reality-of-job-hunting-in-the-age-of-ai">Continue reading...</a> Inequality Artificial intelligence (AI) Computing Technology Science Work & careers Job hunting Society Sun, 04 Mar 2018 08:00:42 GMT https://www.theguardian.com/inequality/2018/mar/04/dehumanising-impenetrable-frustrating-the-grim-reality-of-job-hunting-in-the-age-of-ai Photograph: Gearstd/Getty Images/iStockphoto Photograph: Gearstd/Getty Images/iStockphoto Stephen Buranyi 2018-03-04T08:00:42Z https://www.theguardian.com/inequality/2018/feb/16/guilt-over-household-chores-is-harming-working-womens-health-housework <p>Worries over whether women are doing their ‘fair share’ has a clear impact on their health, according to a new analysis</p><p>Guilt about not doing enough housework may be harming working women’s health, according to new analysis of data from the <a href="http://www.issp.org/menu-top/home/">International Social Survey Programme</a>.<br></p><p>Over a two-year period, women in 24 countries were asked to rate the amount of household chores they do each day in terms of their perceived “fair share”. They also ranked their physical health levels.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/inequality/2018/feb/16/guilt-over-household-chores-is-harming-working-womens-health-housework">Continue reading...</a> Inequality Equal pay Relationships Family Gender Women Health Psychology Life and style Society Science World news Fri, 16 Feb 2018 16:35:11 GMT https://www.theguardian.com/inequality/2018/feb/16/guilt-over-household-chores-is-harming-working-womens-health-housework Photograph: Tatomm/Getty Images/iStockphoto Photograph: Tatomm/Getty Images/iStockphoto Naomi Larsson 2018-02-16T16:35:11Z https://www.theguardian.com/inequality/audio/2018/feb/16/home-truths-relationships-housework-collide-the-story-podcast <p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/profile/leah-green">Leah Green</a> explores the struggles that arise across the globe when deciding who does which chores<br></p><p><strong>Subscribe and review: <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id1100749323">iTunes</a>, <a href="https://soundcloud.com/thestorypodcast">Soundcloud</a>, <a href="https://audioboom.com/channel/guardian-the-story">Audioboom</a> &amp; <a href="https://www.acast.com/the-story">Acast</a></strong></p><p>Since the 1960s, the amount of household chores done by women has <a href="https://www.timeuse.org/mtus">dropped almost everywhere in the world</a>. But compared to other kinds of social change, it remains slow to progress despite many women feeling they do an unfair proportion of housework compared to their male partners. </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/inequality/audio/2018/feb/16/home-truths-relationships-housework-collide-the-story-podcast">Continue reading...</a> Inequality Gender Women Feminism Fri, 16 Feb 2018 06:00:37 GMT https://www.theguardian.com/inequality/audio/2018/feb/16/home-truths-relationships-housework-collide-the-story-podcast Photograph: Bettmann/Bettmann Archive Photograph: Bettmann/Bettmann Archive Presented and co-produced by Leah Green and co-produced by Max Sanderson 2018-02-16T06:00:37Z https://www.theguardian.com/inequality/2018/feb/13/when-will-men-live-as-long-as-women-by-2032-say-experts <p>Women in developed countries have historically outlived men. But the life expectancy gender gap is closing</p><p>In developed countries, the gender gap has long favoured women by one measure at least: life expectancy. </p><p>Throughout the past 100 years women have significantly outlived men, on whom war, heavy industry and cigarettes – among other things – have taken a heavier toll.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/inequality/2018/feb/13/when-will-men-live-as-long-as-women-by-2032-say-experts">Continue reading...</a> Inequality Generational inequality Life expectancy Society Health History Education The gender gap Life and style Tue, 13 Feb 2018 09:00:11 GMT https://www.theguardian.com/inequality/2018/feb/13/when-will-men-live-as-long-as-women-by-2032-say-experts Photograph: Heritage Images/Getty Images Photograph: Heritage Images/Getty Images Niamh McIntyre 2018-02-13T09:00:11Z https://www.theguardian.com/inequality/2018/feb/08/trauma-trap-whats-causing-inequalities-in-emergency-care <p>As US studies reveal worrying disparities in trauma treatment based on patient ethnicity, one surgeon urges more research into inequalities in UK emergency care</p><p>Ten years ago, when Dr Adil Haider, a trauma surgeon at Harvard Medical School, began investigating disparities in emergency centre outcomes based on information recorded in the <a href="https://www.facs.org/quality-programs/trauma/ntdb">US National Trauma Data Bank</a>, he discovered a striking trend.<br></p><p>In the US, trauma is the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/injury/wisqars/overview/key_data.html">number one cause of death</a> for people under 47, and Haider had identified huge differences in patient survival rates based entirely on race. Compared to white patients with injuries of similar severity, black and Hispanic patients were found to have 20% and 50% greater likelihoods of death respectively. </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/inequality/2018/feb/08/trauma-trap-whats-causing-inequalities-in-emergency-care">Continue reading...</a> Inequality Health Society US healthcare NHS US news Life and style World news Race UK news Doctors Medical research Science Thu, 08 Feb 2018 09:00:23 GMT https://www.theguardian.com/inequality/2018/feb/08/trauma-trap-whats-causing-inequalities-in-emergency-care Photograph: vm/Getty Images Photograph: vm/Getty Images David Cox 2018-02-08T09:00:23Z https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/may/03/demise-middle-classes-british-politics-digital-age As the rewards of the digital age are hoarded at the top, automation and flexible working are hollowing out the rest of the economy<br /><p>Back when he was leader of the Labour party, Ed Miliband came up with a phrase to describe those who, while not exactly poor, were finding life tougher than it used to be. The <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/jan/14/ed-miliband-makes-overtures-to-middle-class-voters" title="">“squeezed middle”</a> summed up Britain in the years after the financial crisis: the stagnant wages, the falling living standards, the spending cuts that were starting to bite.</p><p>Phrases – even good ones – don’t win elections, and Labour went down to defeat in the 2015 election. But Miliband’s slogan has matured with age and it is now clear that he was ahead of his time. The idea of a squeezed middle certainly resonates in the suburban households that have been feeling the pinch during the long and incomplete recovery from the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2008/dec/28/markets-credit-crunch-banking-2008" title="">crash of 2008</a>.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/may/03/demise-middle-classes-british-politics-digital-age">Continue reading...</a> Economic policy Politics UK news Poverty Social exclusion Society Income inequality Inequality Economics Business Fri, 03 May 2019 04:59:31 GMT https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/may/03/demise-middle-classes-british-politics-digital-age Photograph: Alastair Grant/AP Photograph: Alastair Grant/AP Larry Elliott 2019-05-03T04:59:31Z https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/may/02/six-people-who-prove-capitalism-is-broken-in-america <p>Over the last few years, the Guardian talked to many people for whom capitalism isn’t working – here are a few of their stories</p><p>Work hard, get paid, thrive. That’s the way the system is supposed to work. If you’re not thriving, according to this logic, you’re simply not working hard enough.</p><p>But that’s not the reality many people live, even in wealthy, industrialized nations like the United States. For many Americans, long hours and unrelenting dedication to their job are not enough to save them from homelessness, debt, and other humiliations.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/may/02/six-people-who-prove-capitalism-is-broken-in-america">Continue reading...</a> US economy Life and style Inequality US work & careers Economics Money US personal finance Thu, 02 May 2019 12:21:38 GMT https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/may/02/six-people-who-prove-capitalism-is-broken-in-america Photograph: Johannes Eisele/AFP/Getty Images Photograph: Johannes Eisele/AFP/Getty Images Lauren Aratani 2019-05-02T12:21:38Z https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/may/02/pregnant-black-racial-disparities-maternal-health <p>In the US, women of color face more risks in pregnancy and childbirth than white women, and the reason for the disparity has become clear: racism</p><p>When Jessica Roach’s second daughter was born premature, at just 34 weeks and five days, Roach found herself living a statistic that she knew intimately. What began as dizzy spells, nausea and food aversion became a condition that called for bed rest; her cervix, it turned out, was dilating too early. An African American woman living in Columbus, Ohio, Roach experienced a pregnancy rife with health challenges, despite having a job as a nurse at Ohio State University and access to medical care just floors from where she worked.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/may/02/pregnant-black-racial-disparities-maternal-health">Continue reading...</a> Inequality Race Maternal mortality Society Health Health & wellbeing Women Thu, 02 May 2019 06:00:17 GMT https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/may/02/pregnant-black-racial-disparities-maternal-health Illustration: Hannah Buckman/Hannah Buckman for Guardian US Illustration: Hannah Buckman/Hannah Buckman for Guardian US Miriam Zoila Pérez 2019-05-02T06:00:17Z https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/may/01/poverty-holding-young-people-back-teacher As a teacher, I want my pupils to believe that hard work leads to success. There’s no chance of that if they can’t afford to eat<br /><br /><p>As A-level exams draw nearer, I have returned to teaching Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman. A cautionary tale on being wedded to an ideal that is unattainable, it has left my students ultimately frustrated with the central character, Willy. Why can’t he think outside the box he hems himself into, they wonder. He could have been bolder with his ambitions in the way we, their teachers, encourage them to be.</p><p>Making young people aspirational is the bread and butter of teachers everywhere. It forms the background noise of our daily dealings with our students. Each lesson of each day, we bargain with them: if you stop fidgeting and concentrate, if you apply yourself with maximum effort, you will, eventually, be rewarded. For students from poor and disadvantaged backgrounds, it’s a carrot forever dangled before them. Hard work begets success, a future of fulfilment and financial ease they are told. Will Smith said so in his <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5nVqeVhgQE&amp;frags=pl%2Cwn" title="">umpteenth motivational video</a>, so it must be true. What is left unspoken, but no less definitively delivered, is that failure can only be considered a predictable result of indolence.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/may/01/poverty-holding-young-people-back-teacher">Continue reading...</a> Social mobility Poverty Children Society Social exclusion Education Schools Inequality Young people Food poverty UK news Wed, 01 May 2019 11:24:07 GMT https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/may/01/poverty-holding-young-people-back-teacher Photograph: Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images Photograph: Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images Lola Okolosie 2019-05-01T11:24:07Z https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2018/nov/26/the-trolley-boys-of-manila-in-pictures <p> Scores of commuters in the Philippine capital, whose metropolitan area is home to about 13 million, are propelled to their destinations daily by so-called ‘trolley boys’, who push metal carts along a few segments of the sprawling capital’s railroads</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2018/nov/26/the-trolley-boys-of-manila-in-pictures">Continue reading...</a> Philippines Asia Pacific World news Poverty Society Inequality News photography Photography Rail transport Mon, 26 Nov 2018 09:15:33 GMT https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2018/nov/26/the-trolley-boys-of-manila-in-pictures Photograph: Noel Celis/AFP/Getty Images Photograph: Noel Celis/AFP/Getty Images Noel Celis/AFP/Getty Images 2018-11-26T09:15:33Z https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/video/2018/jul/20/barack-obama-men-nerves-women-politics <p>Speaking at the Obama Foundation in Johannesburg, the former US president has called for more women to enter politics and has expressed dismay at abusive male leaders.</p><p>Obama's address came during a highly charged political week during which presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin met in Helsinki.&nbsp;</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/video/2018/jul/20/barack-obama-men-nerves-women-politics">Continue reading...</a> Barack Obama Women in politics Inequality US news South Africa Fri, 20 Jul 2018 13:22:55 GMT https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/video/2018/jul/20/barack-obama-men-nerves-women-politics Photograph: Obama Foundation Photograph: Obama Foundation 2018-07-20T13:22:55Z https://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2018/apr/18/jacinda-ardern-and-justin-trudeau-talk-to-young-londoners-video <p>Jacinda Ardern, the prime minister of New Zealand and Justin Trudeau, the prime minister of Canada, join London mayor Sadiq Khan to take questions on gender equality from young Londoners. In a Q&amp;A session, the two heads of states touched on gender equality, feminism and how to bring about change in society</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2018/apr/18/jacinda-ardern-and-justin-trudeau-talk-to-young-londoners-video">Continue reading...</a> Jacinda Ardern Justin Trudeau Sadiq Khan Gender Feminism Women Inequality Wed, 18 Apr 2018 20:06:33 GMT https://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2018/apr/18/jacinda-ardern-and-justin-trudeau-talk-to-young-londoners-video Photograph: Canadian Press/REX/Shutterstock Photograph: Canadian Press/REX/Shutterstock 2018-04-18T20:06:33Z https://www.theguardian.com/politics/video/2018/mar/02/owen-jones-scottish-rapper-loki-jeremy-corbyn-politics <p>Darren McGarvey, also known as Loki, tells the Guardian columnist how he has enjoyed Jeremy Corbyn shaking things up in UK politics. The author, commentator and rapper argues that both the left and right are guilty of misunderstanding poverty and how people on lower incomes interpret the world. He says this sense of exclusion from the democratic process was a major factor in the Brexit vote</p><p><a href="https://www.guardianbookshop.com/poverty-safari.html">Poverty Safari is available from the Guardian Bookshop</a><br><br><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_EbpIcwDts&amp;feature=youtu.be">An extended version of this interview is available on Owen Jones's YouTube channel</a><br><br>With thanks to the Rotunda Bar and Restaurant</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/video/2018/mar/02/owen-jones-scottish-rapper-loki-jeremy-corbyn-politics">Continue reading...</a> Scottish independence Brexit Politics Inequality Poverty Mental health Jeremy Corbyn Labour Scottish National party (SNP) Scotland Fri, 02 Mar 2018 11:27:05 GMT https://www.theguardian.com/politics/video/2018/mar/02/owen-jones-scottish-rapper-loki-jeremy-corbyn-politics Photograph: The Guardian Photograph: The Guardian Owen Jones, Adam Sich, Ekaterina Ochagavia and Rachel Finn 2018-03-02T11:27:05Z https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/apr/30/social-mobility-in-uk-virtually-stagnant-since-2014 <p>Commission says entry into professional jobs largely dependent on parents’ careers</p><p>Inequality in Britain is “now entrenched from birth to work”, according to a damning report by the government’s <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/social-mobility-commission">social mobility commission</a> that charts failures in education and employment policies that have caused class privilege to become more entrenched.</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/feb/07/the-class-pay-gap-why-it-pays-to-be-privileged">The class pay gap: why it pays to be privileged</a> </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/apr/30/social-mobility-in-uk-virtually-stagnant-since-2014">Continue reading...</a> Social mobility Class issues Society UK news Childcare Children Money Further education Education Poverty Inequality Social exclusion Work & careers Guardian Careers Income inequality Family finances Tue, 30 Apr 2019 11:32:36 GMT https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/apr/30/social-mobility-in-uk-virtually-stagnant-since-2014 Photograph: Dominic Lipinski/PA Photograph: Dominic Lipinski/PA Richard Adams Education editor 2019-04-30T11:32:36Z https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/apr/25/living-costs-rising-faster-for-uks-poorest-families-than-richest <p>Poorer households fare worse because of types of goods and services they buy, says ONS</p><p>Living costs have increased faster for Britain’s poorest households than for the richest, according to official figures, amid a squeeze on living standards for low-income families that has lasted more than a decade.</p><p>The <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk/office-for-national-statistics">Office for National Statistics</a> said costs for the poorest tenth of households in Britain had risen by 2.7% a year on average between 2006 and 2018, compared with an increase of 2.3% for the richest tenth.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/apr/25/living-costs-rising-faster-for-uks-poorest-families-than-richest">Continue reading...</a> Poverty Social exclusion Income inequality Office for National Statistics Society Business UK news Thu, 25 Apr 2019 12:29:21 GMT https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/apr/25/living-costs-rising-faster-for-uks-poorest-families-than-richest Photograph: Dan Dalton/Getty Images/Caiaimage Photograph: Dan Dalton/Getty Images/Caiaimage Richard Partington Economics correspondent 2019-04-25T12:29:21Z https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/apr/19/what-else-can-we-raise-from-the-dead <p>This week, the Notre Dame fire shows humans are still pretty good at solving crises</p><p>Some people are not good in a crisis. They argue, weep, panic or, if they’re anything like me, find someone to blame.</p><p>Fortunately, humanity in general is quite good at crises. Certainly good at causing them, but often good at confronting them too.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/apr/19/what-else-can-we-raise-from-the-dead">Continue reading...</a> Notre Dame Paris France Easter Europe Extinction Rebellion Environmental activism Income inequality Van Gogh Fri, 19 Apr 2019 07:00:49 GMT https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/apr/19/what-else-can-we-raise-from-the-dead Photograph: Michel Euler/AFP/Getty Images Photograph: Michel Euler/AFP/Getty Images Mark Rice-Oxley 2019-04-19T07:00:49Z https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/apr/25/border-wall-south-texas-national-identity-exclusion <p>Many in south Texas see the border as a symbol of a national identity that not only excludes but also marginalizes them </p><p>Alongside a one-room church, surrounded by farmland and a tangle of south Texas chaparral, a former slave master and a freed slave lay buried. Husband and wife. Nathaniel Jackson was a white man born into privilege on his father’s plantation. Matilda Hicks once labored on a Georgia plantation. In 1857, Matilda and Nathaniel, along with their children, six other mixed-race families and 12 freed slaves, set off from Alabama and settled near the Rio Grande, a few miles from San Juan, Texas.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/apr/25/border-wall-south-texas-national-identity-exclusion">Continue reading...</a> Inequality Race Texas Slavery Thu, 25 Apr 2019 06:00:42 GMT https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/apr/25/border-wall-south-texas-national-identity-exclusion Illustration: Matt Rota/Matt Rota for Guardian US Illustration: Matt Rota/Matt Rota for Guardian US Michelle García 2019-04-25T06:00:42Z https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/apr/24/capitalism-is-failing-workers-people-want-a-job-with-a-decent-wage-why-is-that-so-hard <p>The workings of capitalism have been challenged both from the populist right and the socialist left. At the heart of the discontent in the US is faltering wages</p><ul><li>Read our entire <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/series/broken-capitalism">Broken Capitalism</a> series</li></ul><p>Before capitalism, there was work. Before markets, before even money, there was work. Our remotest ancestors, hunting and gathering, almost certainly did not see work as a separate, compartmentalized part of life in the way we do today. But we have always had to work to live. Even in the 21st century, we strive through work for the means to live, hence the campaign for a “living wage”.</p><p>As a species, we like to define ourselves through our thoughts and wisdom, as <em>Homo sapiens</em>. But we could as easily do so through the way we consciously apply effort towards certain goals, by our work – as <em>Homo</em> <em>laborans</em>. It nonetheless took two revolutions, one agricultural, one industrial, to turn “work” into its own category.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/apr/24/capitalism-is-failing-workers-people-want-a-job-with-a-decent-wage-why-is-that-so-hard">Continue reading...</a> Inequality Economics US news Socialism US politics Business Wed, 24 Apr 2019 06:00:18 GMT https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/apr/24/capitalism-is-failing-workers-people-want-a-job-with-a-decent-wage-why-is-that-so-hard Illustration: Lucy Jones/Lucy Jones for Guardian US Illustration: Lucy Jones/Lucy Jones for Guardian US Richard Reeves 2019-04-24T06:00:18Z https://www.theguardian.com/media/commentisfree/2019/apr/21/wanted-a-media-that-truly-reflects-modern-britain <p>No-name applications may be an effective way to eliminate elite bias in journalist recruitment</p><p>Danielle Wall may be the managing editor of the Spectator, but she still feels like the odd one out at some corporate events. Not because she is one of the weekly title’s most senior women, but because she left school at 16. “It can make me feel uncomfortable,” she said last week.</p><p>Wall’s journalistic flair and fierce work ethic first brought her to the attention of the editor, Fraser Nelson, when she was his PA 10 years ago. Her rise is the inspiration behind an internship programme at the magazine, which is one of the most innovative in journalism.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/commentisfree/2019/apr/21/wanted-a-media-that-truly-reflects-modern-britain">Continue reading...</a> Magazines Media Newspapers Newspapers & magazines Inequality Work & careers Guardian Careers Money Sun, 21 Apr 2019 13:07:55 GMT https://www.theguardian.com/media/commentisfree/2019/apr/21/wanted-a-media-that-truly-reflects-modern-britain Photograph: David M Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images for Spe Photograph: David M Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images for Spe Jane Martinson 2019-04-21T13:07:55Z https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/apr/21/one-thing-unites-snobs-of-all-persuasions-contempt-for-the-middle-class Eco-protesters and Remainers can all be dismissed as being members of the Waitrose shopping class<p>As painful as it is to admit, Jacob Rees-Mogg did, once, have his uses. Or one, at least. It emerged during one of his earlier <em>Question Time</em> appearances (when the BBC could still, just about, pretend ignorance of the then embryo demagogue’s <em>tendresse</em> for racists). Responding to a question about Heathrow, Rees-Mogg volunteered that he hadn’t minded the planes when he lived in Slough. “Eton,” chaffed the host, David Dimbleby. “I was at school with your son,” said Rees-Mogg.</p><p>Anyway, thanks to this contribution (along with other BBC-presenter-on-BBC-presenter squabbles about who is or is not “posh”), it can be demonstrated that Sky News’ Adam Boulton is not the only mature white male TV presenter to suffer from pot-kettle syndrome, to the possibly debilitating extent of wanting – although not for the purposes of satire – to belittle others for enjoying the same social capital and privileges as himself.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/apr/21/one-thing-unites-snobs-of-all-persuasions-contempt-for-the-middle-class">Continue reading...</a> Extinction Rebellion Class issues Society Protest UK news Adam Boulton Politics Inequality World news Environment Media Giles Fraser Sun, 21 Apr 2019 04:59:43 GMT https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/apr/21/one-thing-unites-snobs-of-all-persuasions-contempt-for-the-middle-class Photograph: Sky News Photograph: Sky News Catherine Bennett 2019-04-21T04:59:43Z https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/apr/18/billionaires-donations-notre-dame-france-inequality Handouts from France’s super-rich make them look pious, and lend credibility to gross inequality<p>In 2017, a welter of stories appeared in the international press pointing out the brokenness of Paris’s Notre Dame. Cathedral officials showed journalists how patches of limestone would crumble at a finger’s touch. Gargoyles that had lost their heads were patched up with plastic pipes, while fallen balustrades were replaced with wooden planks. All this decay was caused by pollution, acid rain and eight centuries of use – but also official neglect was to blame. Keepers of the building had begged for more money, but neither the belt-tightening French government nor the wealthy grumbling about higher taxes gave enough.</p><p>Then came Holy Week 2019 and the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/notre-dame" title="">inferno by the Seine</a> and all of a sudden, nobody can give too much. After years of preaching the shrinking of the public sector, the French president, Emmanuel Macron, now wants to mobilise the full resources of the state to get the roofless cathedral <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/apr/17/notre-dame-fire-macron-promises-to-make-cathedral-more-beautiful-than-before" title="">rebuilt within just five years</a>. And money from France’s billionaire class <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2019/04/16/business/francois-henri-pinault-bernard-arnault-notre-dame-donation/index.html" title="">keeps raining down</a>. In three days, the cathedral has been pledged <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2019/apr/15/notre-dame-cathedral-fire-paris-france-landmark-live-news" title="">€100m</a> (£86m) from Francois-Henri Pinault, the ultimate owner of Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent; €200m (£172m) from the Arnault family of Louis Vuitton fame; another €200m from L’Oreal owners the Bettencourt Meyers family, and €100m from French oil giant Total.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/apr/18/billionaires-donations-notre-dame-france-inequality">Continue reading...</a> Notre Dame Inequality Emmanuel Macron France Gucci L'Oréal Thu, 18 Apr 2019 13:59:44 GMT https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/apr/18/billionaires-donations-notre-dame-france-inequality Photograph: POOL/Reuters Photograph: POOL/Reuters Aditya Chakrabortty 2019-04-18T13:59:44Z https://www.theguardian.com/inequality/2019/apr/28/taking-from-the-old-to-give-to-the-young The House of Lords’ proposals for intergenerational fairness are not all bad, says <strong>Stephen Burke</strong>. <strong>Peter Gainey</strong> and <strong>Peter Croft</strong> disagree<p>It’s a pity that your coverage of the House of Lords intergenerational fairness select committee report focused on divisive tinkering of a few benefits (<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/inequality/2019/apr/25/curbing-pensioner-benefits-could-help-the-young-says-report" title="">Lords report: axe age-related benefits to narrow the generation gap</a>, 25 April). The report makes much more fundamental proposals on taxation, public spending, housing, work and education that would have a long-term impact on intergenerational unfairness.</p><p>Britain is one of the most age-segregated countries in the world. To heal our divided society, we need to bring older and younger people together. More mixing between the generations, and the sharing of activities and experiences, will tackle the lack of connection and lack of trust that underpins ageism, loneliness and division. Every school, nursery, college, care home, housing scheme and community organisation can bring generations together. <br><strong>Stephen Burke</strong><br><em>Director</em>, <em>United for All Ages</em></p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/inequality/2019/apr/28/taking-from-the-old-to-give-to-the-young">Continue reading...</a> Generational inequality Inequality Society House of Lords Politics Conservatives Sun, 28 Apr 2019 16:41:43 GMT https://www.theguardian.com/inequality/2019/apr/28/taking-from-the-old-to-give-to-the-young Photograph: Photofusion/UIG via Getty Images Photograph: Photofusion/UIG via Getty Images Letters 2019-04-28T16:41:43Z https://www.theguardian.com/environment/commentisfree/2019/feb/21/gen-x-has-survived-its-gloomy-formative-years-now-we-will-have-to-deal-with-climate-change <p>The baby boomers gave us Trump and Brexit. Can my generation age more gracefully?</p><p>Generational politics is bullshit, but a Gen X guy would say that. I sometimes wonder, though, whether whatever is distinctive in my generation’s experience (and haunting our minds) might have something to offer the future.</p><p>After a brief flurry of interest in the 1990s, thinkpieces on my demographic quickly waned. There were never that many of us; the meat in the sandwich was and is meagre.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/commentisfree/2019/feb/21/gen-x-has-survived-its-gloomy-formative-years-now-we-will-have-to-deal-with-climate-change">Continue reading...</a> Climate change Generational inequality Australia news US news UK news Social trends Society Thu, 21 Feb 2019 00:08:13 GMT https://www.theguardian.com/environment/commentisfree/2019/feb/21/gen-x-has-survived-its-gloomy-formative-years-now-we-will-have-to-deal-with-climate-change Photograph: Glenn Hunt/AAP Photograph: Glenn Hunt/AAP Jason Wilson 2019-02-21T00:08:13Z https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/feb/06/climate-change-deadliest-legacy-baby-boomers-young-people Property prices, pensions and austerity will pale into insignificance compared with the effects of global warming on the next generation<p>One of the strange things that happens when you start work on a novel is that you realise what’s been preoccupying you – sometimes without you knowing it. I was about a third of the way into my new novel, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/jan/19/the-wall-john-lanchester-review" title="">The Wall</a>, when I discovered that I was completely obsessed by intergenerational inequality. In particular, by the question of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/inequality/generational-inequality" title="">intergenerational inequality</a> linked to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-change" title="">climate change</a>. Who knew? Certainly not me.</p><p>Now, there’s nothing wrong with intergenerational inequality. At least, there’s nothing wrong with the version of it that existed in the developed world for much of the 20th century. That kind of inequality was based on the idea that life should be gradually better, from one generation to another – more secure, more prosperous, healthier, longer. That means that children got a better deal than their parents, but that was fine; indeed, in this version of the social contract, that was the whole point.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/feb/06/climate-change-deadliest-legacy-baby-boomers-young-people">Continue reading...</a> Generational inequality Climate change Environment Older people Society Young people Inequality UK news Wed, 06 Feb 2019 19:04:00 GMT https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/feb/06/climate-change-deadliest-legacy-baby-boomers-young-people Illustration: Bill Bragg/The Guardian Illustration: Bill Bragg/The Guardian John Lanchester 2019-02-06T19:04:00Z https://www.theguardian.com/society/shortcuts/2019/jan/04/move-over-millennials-and-gen-z-here-comes-generation-alpha <p>What happens when the young people making up society’s favourite punchbags get older? A whole new tribe – made up of the children reaching school age – is born</p><p>Grumps might have to rethink criticising the “kids of today” and millennials in the same breath, as the oldest among them are not so young any more. At 22, the youngest millennials are still fresh-faced and leaning on their better-off Gen X or baby boomer parents. And the oldest millennials are 38 – not really kids by any metric, but conceivably still in their parents’ pockets.</p><p>Maligned as feckless, entitled, absorbed by screens and uninterested in sex, millennials have been a favourite punchbag for some time. Generation Z , born from mid-1990 on, are next in line for a kicking. After them are Generation Alpha, the first group of millennials’ children, born from about 2011 until 2025. Henry Rose Lee, the <a href="http://www.talenttio.com/" title="">intergenerational speaker and author</a>, describes them as “millennials on steroids”. “The oldest millennials didn’t really grow up with digital technology, though of course they’ve inherited it and made it their own,” she says. “People under the age of 22 have virtually grown up with it in its increasing sophistication. They are thus quite different from us oldies.”</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/shortcuts/2019/jan/04/move-over-millennials-and-gen-z-here-comes-generation-alpha">Continue reading...</a> Young people Social trends Society Generational inequality Fri, 04 Jan 2019 16:47:12 GMT https://www.theguardian.com/society/shortcuts/2019/jan/04/move-over-millennials-and-gen-z-here-comes-generation-alpha Photograph: Westend61/Getty Images/Westend61 Photograph: Westend61/Getty Images/Westend61 Daniel Lavelle 2019-01-04T16:47:12Z