This article relates to Goal 10: Reduced inequalities, one of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals. Goal icon by the United Nations. Emberoot is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, the UN.
Businesses shape inequality every day through who they hire, how they pay, who can use their products and who they buy from. SDG 10 gives those choices a framework. This article sets out practical ways a business can reduce inequality, sized for a small or growing team, with links to the rules that already apply in some markets.
Why SDG 10 is a business issue
The UN SDG Report 2026 says nearly one in five people reported discrimination in the past year, and that labour’s share of world GDP fell from 53.0% in 2015 to 52.6% in 2025. The World Health Organization estimates 1.3 billion people, about 16% of the world’s population, live with significant disability. These are employees, customers and suppliers. A business that excludes them loses talent and revenue.
Practical ways a business can reduce inequality
1. Publish pay ranges and stop asking for salary history
Pay ranges in job adverts help close unexplained gaps. In the EU, the Pay Transparency Directive (Directive 2023/970) had to be written into national law by 7 June 2026. It gives job applicants the right to information on starting pay or its range and bans employers from asking about pay history. Employers with 150 or more workers must report on their gender pay gap from 7 June 2027, and those with 100 to 149 from 7 June 2031. Even outside the EU, these are sensible practices for a firm of any size.
2. Check your pay data once a year
Put salaries next to role, level, gender and, where it is lawful to collect, other characteristics. Look for gaps you cannot explain by role or experience. Say a 40-person agency in Dubai finds two designers at the same level paid 15% apart with no documented reason: fix it, and write down the rule you will use next time.
3. Make products and websites accessible
Accessibility is a direct route to target 10.2. The WCAG 2.2 guidelines from the W3C set out how to make digital services usable with screen readers, keyboards and low vision. In the EU, the European Accessibility Act applies to many products placed on the market and services provided to consumers after 28 June 2025, including e-commerce and banking. Microenterprises (fewer than 10 people and turnover or balance sheet of no more than EUR 2 million) providing services are generally exempt, but building accessibly from the start costs far less than fixing it later. Our website work treats accessibility as a baseline.
4. Widen where you hire from
Write job adverts in plain language, list only the requirements that matter, and offer remote or flexible options where the work allows. Post roles beyond your usual networks. Make interviews accessible on request.
5. Pay suppliers and contractors on time
Late payment hurts small suppliers most, and they often employ the people SDG 10 is about. Set payment terms you can keep and pay small suppliers first if cash is tight.
6. If you employ or serve migrants, make sending money cheaper
The World Bank put the average cost of sending $200 abroad at 6.36% in the third quarter of 2025, with banks averaging 14.99% and digital services 4.59%. If your staff send money home, tell them about cheaper regulated options and avoid tying wages to costly channels.
Keep it proportionate
A small team can do all of this with a spreadsheet, a free accessibility checker and an hour of honest discussion. Larger firms may need HR software and outside audits. In both cases, measure first and avoid public claims you cannot back up.
- Publish pay ranges in job adverts
- Test your site with a keyboard and screen reader
- Keep a written reason for every pay decision
- Collect personal data only where the law allows it
- Saying the UN endorses your business
- Setting diversity targets you never measure
- Treating accessibility as a one-off project
- Asking candidates about their previous salary
How to report on SDG 10
Report what you changed and what you measured, with dates: the pay gap you found and closed, the accessibility issues fixed, the share of spend with small suppliers. Link each to the relevant target on the SDG 10 goal page. The Global Goals hub covers the other goals your actions may touch. If you would like help turning this into a plan, every Emberoot project starts with a free 30-minute call; contact us here.
This article is general information, not legal or professional advice. Check the rules that apply where you operate.
Frequently asked questions
How can a small business reduce inequality?
A small business can publish pay ranges, stop asking about salary history, check its pay data once a year for unexplained gaps, make its website and products accessible, hire from wider networks, pay small suppliers on time and help migrant staff find cheaper ways to send money home. Each step links to a specific SDG 10 target.
Does the EU Pay Transparency Directive apply to small firms?
Some parts do. The Directive gives job applicants a right to pay information and bans questions about pay history, regardless of employer size, once national law applies it. Gender pay gap reporting is required from employers with 100 or more workers, starting in 2027 or 2031 depending on size. Check your national law for details.
Is website accessibility part of SDG 10?
Yes. Target 10.2 calls for the social and economic inclusion of everyone, including people with disabilities. The WHO estimates 1.3 billion people live with significant disability. Following the WCAG 2.2 guidelines makes digital services usable for more of them, and in the EU the European Accessibility Act now requires it for many consumer services.