Social Inclusion in the Americas

The Latin American and Caribbean region is among the most unequal in the world. This inequality is multifaceted and complex. In analyzing and addressing inequalities in the region, it is critical to look not only at income and wealth inequality, but to examine how inequalities exist across gender, SOGI, and ethno-racial lines. Despite efforts to ensure that all groups are treated equal, or at least efforts to believe these inequalities no longer exist, inequalities due to ones’ identity persist across the region and globe. In addition to looking at inequalities Latin America and the Caribbean, it is important that we examine how many of these inequalities are also evident in other countries and regions—including in the United States. Policies that address underlying inequalities need to be tailored to the specifics of different national contexts, but important lessons in addressing inequality can and should be shared across borders.

 

Ratzlaff previously worked with the Gender and Diversity Division of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and is a non-resident research associate with the Commitment to Equity Institute, where he contributed to the Institute’s methodology on analyzing fiscal policy across ethno-racial lines. He also emphasizes the need and importance of including social development questions in comparative contexts and within the broader U.S.-Latin American foreign policy agenda.