Dokumen ini membahas konsep ketimpangan dalam konteks sosial, ekonomi, dan lingkungan, serta dampaknya terhadap masyarakat. Ketimpangan dapat terjadi dalam berbagai bentuk, termasuk pendapatan, akses terhadap sumber daya, dan kesempatan.
The landmark 2008 OECD report Growing Unequal? showed that the gap between rich and poor had been growing in most OECD countries. Three years down the road, inequality has become a universal concern, among both policy makers and societies at large. The new OECD study Divided we Stand: Why Inequality Keeps Rising reveals that the gap between rich and poor has widened even further in most countries.