2016: Leaving no one behind: the imperative of inclusive development

Humankind has achieved unprecedented social progress over the past several decades. Poverty has declined dramatically around the world and people are healthier, more educated and better connected than ever before. However, this progress has been uneven. Social and economic inequalities persist and, in many cases, have worsened. Virtually everywhere, some individuals and groups confront barriers that prevent them from fully participating in economic, social and political life.

Against this backdrop, inclusiveness and shared prosperity have emerged as core aspirations of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. A central pledge contained in the 2030 Agenda is to ensure that no one will be left behind and to see all goals and targets met for all nations, peoples and for all parts of society, endeavouring to reach the furthest behind first.

The focus of the 2030 Agenda on inclusiveness underscores the need to identify who is being left behind and in what ways. This is what the Report on the World Social Situation 2016 sets out to do. Specifically, the report contains an examination of the patterns of social exclusion and consideration of whether development processes have been inclusive, with particular attention paid to the links between exclusion, poverty and employment trends. Key challenges to social inclusion are highlighted along with policy imperatives to promote it. It is recognized in the report that promoting inclusion will take time and political determination. Raising awareness about the consequences of leaving some people behind and recommending actions that Governments can take to avoid doing so can help generate political will.

Download Full Report (PDF)

• Key Findings
• Executive Summary
• Introduction
• Chapter I: Identifying social inclusion and exclusion
• Chapter II: Poverty, inequality and decent work: key dimensions of exclusion
• Chapter III: Who is being left behind? Patterns of social exclusion
• Chapter IV: Prejudice and discrimination: barriers to social inclusion
• Chapter V: Policy imperatives for leaving no one behind
• Bibliography

Facebook Chat 

Many people continue to face social exclusion and limited access to social, economic and political opportunities. The team of authors behind the Report organized a Facebook chat on 6 July from 11 am to 12 pm EDT to discuss how we can combat social exclusion and what some of the main findings of their report. Comments and questions were shared via Twitter, using the hashtag #EndExclusion. For more information, please visit: bit.ly/EndExclusion

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