Inequality: The Enemy Between Us

Last week, Professor Kate Pickett of York University visited Bangor to deliver this year’s Anne Marie Jones Memorial Lecture, hosted by the Children’s Early Intervention Trust and the Centre for Evidence Based Early Intervention in the School of Psychology.

Kate Pickett is co-author of the bestselling ‘The Spirit Level’, winner of the 2012 Publication of the Year from the Political Studies Association and translated into twenty-three languages.

Entitled “Inequality: The Enemy Between Us” her lecture explored the impact of income inequality across the world, with a particular focus in the impact of inequality on children.

Speaking to a large and varied audience of students, University staff and the local community Professor Pickett said "There is a mythology in the UK that if you work hard and have enough aspiration you will do well in society. This cannot be the case while we have low equality of opportunity and social mobility.”

She went on to explain the links between inequality and child well-being, demonstrating that in countries where income inequality is higher than average, child well-being is lower than average.  

"Across the political divide you will not find anyone who doesn't think social mobility is a good thing. We all want our children to do well, but social mobility is much lower in more unequal countries.

If you really want to live the American Dream, you're better off in Denmark” she said.

The lecture was chaired by the University’s Vice Chancellor, Professor John Hughes who said:  “It is a great pleasure to have Professor Kate Pickett with us this evening. The Spirit Level contains some really important lessons as to why we should campaign for equality.”

Professor Pickett is a co-founder of The Equality Trust, an organisation that works to reduce income inequality in order to improve the quality of life in the UK.

She is also a Commissioner for the Living Wage Commission.

View the Lecture on BangorTV.

Publication date: 28 March 2014