Socio-economic inequality is also conceptualized on the basis of other key concepts, such as socio-economic strata, the economic and productive structure, how property ownership is structured, and both labor and productive inclusion.

Socio-economic strata constitute the first axis of inequality, and refer to the social structure and the position agents occupy within that structure. Socio-economic strata are greatly determined by the productive structure, and its central elements consist of the ways in which ownership is structured and both resources (income) and productive assets are distributed.

Among the existing international pacts and conventions in favor of socio-economic equality, the most significant include the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the ILO Employment and Occupation Discrimination Convention, as well as that body’s Social Security Covenant, and the Additional Protocol to the American Convention on Human Rights in the Area of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

The public policies crucial for narrowing socio-economic gaps are centered around income and work related issues, such as labour and social inclusion; social protection, particularly those focused on the realization of the rights of the most vulnerable people; and universal access to health and an end to malnutrition.

The adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on people’s incomes is expected to lead to a deterioration in income distribution in the form of greater income inequality as a reflection of the impact on labour market dynamics, with the harshest effects felt by women, informal workers, young people, less educated people, people of African descent and migrants.