Issues On My Mind | Inequality: Technology, Jobs and a Shrinking Middle Class

Upward mobility and the resulting growth of the middle class have long been the promise of the American dream, inspiring many to come to our shores. But technology-driven globalization, while creating great wealth and lifting many from poverty, has also left many behind. High growth economies like China, India and Nigeria are experiencing disparities that have implications for stability. And, in the US, inequality in income is the highest it has been since 1928. How can technology innovation be matched by social innovation? What will be the future of work in high and low growth economies? And how can the current and future workforce prepare for the jobs that await? These are the questions that are on the minds of some of our country’s leading technologists, including LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman. The World Affairs Council has invited Hoffman and fellow innovators to explore these questions and report out to those gathering here at WorldAffairs 2015.

Speakers

Reid Hoffman, Founder of LinkedIn and Greylock Partners
James Manyika, McKinsey Global Institute
Byron Auguste, Co-founder, Opportunity@Work
Zoe Baird, President, Markle Foundation
Moderator: Jane Wales, CEO, World Affairs Council and Global Philanthropy Forum; Vice President, The Aspen Institute

About WorldAffairs 2015

WorldAffairs 2015 will bring together policymakers, business influencers, philanthropists, academics and civic leaders to listen, learn, discuss and debate — deepening understanding and finding solutions that transcend sector and geographic boundaries. This year we will focus on three broad themes: global environment, global health and the global economy.

In this interconnected world addressing our most pressing issues — from endemic poverty to climate change to global health — requires unprecedented levels of cross-sector and cross-border cooperation. In a combination of keynote sessions, working groups, and global town hall discussions, this Conference will shed light on these issues, focusing on where they meet at the intersection of business, policy and philanthropy. Learn more at worldaffairs.org/2015