Why are so many problems worse in more unequal societies?

Why are so many problems worse in more unequal societies?

In a timely inaugural lecture Professor Richard Wilkinson will outline the social and psychological processes which lie behind the tendency for societies with bigger income differences between rich and poor to suffer from higher rates of many health and social problems – everything from infant mortality, covid, and mental ill-health, to more violence, higher rates of imprisonment, and lower levels of trust.

Professor Wilkinson will argue that inequality makes social status and class distinctions more powerful– damaging both the quality of life and the prospects of making the transition to sustainability. 

About the Speaker

Richard Wilkinson is a visiting professor of Social Epidemiology at Northumbria University (and at York, Nottingham and UCL). His research has drawn attention to the tendency for societies with bigger income differences between rich and poor to suffer a heavier burden of health and social problems. Two of his books have been the subject of documentary films: The Great Leveller  (for the Channel 4 TV’s Equinox series broadcast in 1996) was based on his Unhealthy Societies;  The Divide (based on The Spirit Level) was  released in April 2016 (available on Netflix). The Spirit Level, written with Kate Pickett is now in 24 languages and has won several awards. His first TED talk on inequality has been watched 5million times and his second, on anxiety, over 2million times. Richard has received Solidar’s Silver Rose Award, the Irish Cancer Society’s Charles Cully Memorial medal. He was The Australian Society for Medical Research medallist in 2017. He and Kate Pickett published The Inner Level in 2018.