Janet Gornick (CUNY Graduate Center), a former RSF Visiting Scholar and co-author of the RSF publication Families That Work, delivered the keynote address on inequality to the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday, October 7. In her remarks, titled “High and Rising Inequality: Causes and Consequences,” she discussed global trends in inequality and evaluated the scholarship that has studied the root causes of the increase in inequality worldwide. Gornick also noted that the U.N.’s request that she speak about income inequality marked a shift away from the idea, once widely held, that discussing income gaps should be taboo.

She observed that ten years ago, “The thinking was that studying inequality signaled an attack on the rich, and that it might deter investment and productivity.” She continued, “And now here we are with this worldwide attention on inequality. It’s exciting that, this year, the UN has flagged income inequality as the economic and financial issue of the day.”

Click here to read the CUNY Graduate Center’s press release on Gornick’s address.