“The world’s ten richest men have seen their combined wealth increase by $540 billion during the pandemic, while the crisis threatens a lost decade in the fight against poverty,” revealed the Oxfam Inequality Report 2021, published on the opening day of the World Economic Forum’s ‘Davos Dialogues.' The India supplement of the Global Inequality Report highlighted “India’s 100 billionaires have seen their fortune increase by $178 billion since March 2020, enough to give every one of the 138 million poorest Indian people a cheque of $1,288."

Oxfam’s 2021 report “The Inequality Virus” found that Covid-19 has the potential to increase economic inequality in almost every country at once, the first time this has happened since records began over a century ago.

In this webinar Oxfam Inequality experts will talk about the journey of Oxfam’s Inequality work globally and in India, and whether it has been an effective strategy to advocate for a more just and sustainable society.  Glimpses of Oxfam India’s work to address inequality will also be highlighted.

Max Lawson is Head of Inequality Policy for Oxfam International.  He has previously Head of Policy and Campaigns at Oxfam Great Britain, and has helped author some of Oxfam’s most high profile papers.  He also worked for Oxfam as governance adviser for some years, working in over 25 countries on budgets, governance and public spending.  He moved to Nairobi in January along with Oxfam International’s whole headquarters.

Amitabh Behar, Chief Executive Officer of Oxfam India, is a global civil society leader, and an authority on tackling economic and gender inequality and building citizen participation. Mr. Behar currently serves as the Vice-Chair of the Board of CIVICUS, a global alliance of civil society organisations and activists dedicated to strengthening citizen action and civil society across the globe. He also serves on the boards of several other organisations, including the Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability, an Indian public policy think tank. Prior to Oxfam, Mr. Behar was the Executive Director of National Foundation for India and served as the Convener of National Social Watch Coalition and the Co-Chair of Global Call to Action Against Poverty, a network of over 11,000 civil society organisations.