SDG 10 Reduced Inequalities
SDG 10 aims to promote all aspects of identity, including but not limited to age, sex, ability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion and socio-economic status. In many ways, our identity can impact our income, along with our political, social and economic participation in daily life. Goal 10 is all about reducing these inequalities to encourage prosperity and income growth within and between countries. We can achieve this by making sure our attitudes, policies and behaviours ensure equal opportunities, respect for human rights and inclusivity.
You might also be able to align your teaching to this SDG if you want your students to be able to:
- Recognize inequality, how to measure it, and its interrelation with other social problems.
- Analyze the local, national and international processes that promote and hinder equality, such as fiscal, wage and social protection policies or corporate activities.
- Investigate inequalities in their community and abroad.
- Evaluate inequalities in terms of quality and quantity, while identifying causes and strategies to reduce them.
Paulo Freire, author of Pedagogy of the Oppressed, argues that only the oppressed can lead their liberation. Education can be oppressing or liberating. Educators can be oppressors and liberators. Consider how you enable students to reflect, share, and act based on their identities or which identities may be oppressing others. Help students utilize knowledge independently through their own problem posing/solving and decision-making. Freire believed that reducing the power and decision-making distance between teacher and learner would result in revolutionary change – this is also what the SDGs help us strive towards.
Some curricular connections and questions for students might be:
Media – How does the media report on inequalities?
Environment – How does environmental degradation unequally impact people or countries?
Poverty, wealth, and power – What are some contributors to the poverty cycle in your local community? How can we balance inequalities of power between nations?
Indigenous Peoples – How do Indigenous individuals and communities experience inequality and what is being done to address it?
Peace and conflict – How do inequalities result in conflict? How have people overcome these conflicts to address peace and equality?
Oppression and genocide – What are some examples of genocide that resulted from or have led to inequalities?
Gender politics – How has feminism addressed inequalities of gender? What can be done in the future to address current gender inequalities?
Social justice and human rights – What are some historical events of inequality that have led to advances in social justice and human rights? How can we take action on social justice issues today?
Health and biotechnology – How is biotechnology addressing inequalities in health? What are the barriers to implementing these programs?
