The Sydney Equality Indicators Framework: Measures for a Just City

Abstract

Inequality is one of the central challenges of our time. When societies become unequal, people's lives can begin to suffer. Our health and wellbeing decline. Opportunities for secure work and affordable homes become increasingly out of reach. Looking ahead, we worry that the next generation will face tougher times that are less prosperous, less equitable and less fulfilling. The City of Sydney, therefore, has to be able to keep track of the inequalities on its doorstep, so that it can know when to step in and when to call for change. That is why this report presents a new way for the City of Sydney ("the City") to track, evaluate and take action on the state of inequality within the City. It is a direct result of the community's feedback to the Council as part of its Social Sustainability Policy and Action Plan and the Council's 2050 strategy consultation. Inequality was a consistent theme in the City's consultation for the Social Sustainability Policy and Action Plan: 2018-2028.1 The report addresses three fundamental aims: 1. It seeks to define inequality in Sydney and asks what a just City would look like; 2. It proposes a wholly new, fit-for-purpose set of equality indicators; 3. It applies those indicators to generate initial baseline data, presenting a picture for the first time of what inequality looks like in the City today. Show more