There’s no doubt that inequality is on the rise globally, including here in Australia. Despite being ‘the lucky country’, not everyone has the same access to the key pillars of a good life – quality housing, education, income and healthcare.
A new report from the Productivity Commission reveals that in the last few years, all but the richest 10% of Australia’s population have seen their income go backwards, with the poorest Australians suffering the most.
Meanwhile, the recent Togetherness Index by SenateSHJ showed more than two in five respondents believe Australians are divided. The fall-out from the global pandemic, economic fear driven by the cost-of-living crisis and rising inflation, and a growing distrust in government and media are just some of the factors contributing to current political and social divides.
But why does communications and engagement play a critical role in addressing inequality and uniting communities?
1. Communities must have a meaningful say in shaping their own futures. This was the concept at the heart of the Voice to Parliament – giving First Nations communities a route to help inform policy and decisions that would impact their lives.
While this inarguable and fundamental right was ultimately overtaken by political noise during the referendum, this approach of inviting groups to input into decisions that affect them should always inform your engagement strategy.
Whether that’s co-creation opportunities for local housing or infrastructure developments, or input into how their local healthcare system is designed, giving people a voice on decisions that affect them helps build cohesive communities and ultimately lead to more equitable outcomes.
2. Access to unbiased information is a human right. Our job as communicators is egalitarian by nature; to provide clear, easy-to-understand information that is accessible to everyone, no matter their age, gender, race or socioeconomic status.
By doing our jobs well and ensuring our messages are being communicated in an accurate way, we can play a key role in raising awareness and generating buy-in on projects and initiatives that are creating sustainable, positive change on inequalities.
In the digital age, the possibilities for reaching people are endless. We no longer need to rely on traditional forms of media – while it still has an important role to play, social and digital media allows us to directly target the people who need to see the information. That also includes addressing communication inequalities, for example when communicating about a disease or other healthcare issues, being understanding of health literacy differences and avoiding medical jargon to ensure information is accessible to all.
3. Businesses have a key role to play in tackling inequalities. Last year’s Conscious Consumer report showed 67% of Australians think corporates have equal responsibility to government for solving society’s problems. Inequality impedes progress and limits business performance, so addressing these disparities makes business sense. We also know that reputation, and therefore success, depends on stakeholders’ perceptions of market, leadership, ESG and financial performance and the integrity of actions matching words.
And there is hope. As the Business Commission to Tackle Inequality recently put it, while inequality has become a ‘systemic risk, threatening not only individual companies or communities, but entire economies and societies…it is a product of our economic systems, which can change’.
Communicators can help you know and reach your audiences. As strategic partners to the C-suite, we can help shape corporate strategies that effectively address these needs, and communicate these strategies to shareholders, industry partners and employees to help generate support.
Addressing an unequal society is a complex challenge that requires action from all levels of society – government, business and citizens. As communicators, we have a central role in creating a fairer society for all.