Current challenges to social mobility and equality of opportunity

The current economic environment, the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing megatrends, such as digitalisation and the green transformation, threaten equality of opportunity and social mobility for current and future generations. High-quality cross-country evidence is necessary to implement policies to mitigate these threats, but critical data gaps remain. This paper provides updated indicators on equality of opportunity and social mobility across OECD countries and discusses ongoing challenges and opportunities to break down barriers to social mobility and promote equal opportunities for all. It also reviews four areas where more evidence is needed to inform effective policies: the extent of opportunity gaps across population groups; how unequal upbringings affect chances later in life; how growing economic insecurity and large wealth inequalities limit social mobility; and unequal distribution of opportunities across cities and regions. Work in these areas will inform the agenda of the OECD Observatory on Social Mobility and Equal Opportunity.