US Election 2024: Oxfam’s inequality agenda

Our next president and elected leaders must commit to fight the inequality crisis if they want to represent us.

What we're fighting for

There is an inequality crisis on the ballot this November—and it’s time for us to demand leaders muster the courage to fight it.

On November 5, the U.S. will elect a president as well as thousands of leaders at all levels of government. Each will make life-or-death decisions on the most consequential issues of our time—the impacts of which will last generations. From climate change and economic and racial justice to the fight for reproductive rights, our political debates and decisions in the U.S. have global ramifications. So it’s our responsibility to ensure we make choices that advance justice and equality for all.

Oxfam is encouraging all candidates, regardless of party affiliation, to support the following efforts to make the world more equal to help end poverty and injustice:

Economic justice and equal rights

Oxfam champions workers’ rights and challenges the extreme concentration of global wealth and power. We fight efforts by elites to divide us based on race, gender, nationality, and class so that no one goes to bed hungry and everyone has an equal chance to succeed.
We call on elected leaders to:
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Raise the federal minimum wage.
Mandate national paid family and medical leave and guaranteed sick days.
Make child care, eldercare, and services for people with disabilities more affordable and accessible.
Strengthen protections for worker’s rights.
Raise taxes on the ultra-rich and mega-corporations, including by passing a wealth tax.

More on economic justice and equal rights
Dignity for people in crisis

Oxfam advocates for the dignity of people in crisis, partnering with a global network of local organizations to deliver clean water, food, cash, and information to communities in need. But too often these organizations lack the funding and political action from governments to get the job done.
We call on elected leaders to:
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Change U.S. policy to end the conflict in Gaza by forging a permanent ceasefire, bringing home the hostages, restoring basic services along with commercial activities and humanitarian assistance, and rebuilding what was destroyed
Shift U.S. policies to generate substantially more pressure on the Government of Israel to refrain from violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law, including by bringing a swift end to the occupation of the Occupied Palestinian Territory
Work towards a long term peace agreement that delivers rights and security for all Israelis and Palestinians in accordance with international law
Maintain strong, robust funding for global food security and hunger programs that provide aid in response to disasters as well as long-term support to build resilient communities.
Restore and expand access to asylum and humanitarian protection for people seeking safety in the United States.
Address the root causes of migration including violence, systemic corruption, and extreme inequality.
Rebuild resettlement programs so people seeking safety in the U.S. can thrive, not just survive.

More on humanitarian response
Climate action

Oxfam demands wealthy polluters take urgent action to avert catastrophic climate change. We advocate for a just and feminist energy transition that defunds fossil fuels in a way that reduces inequality, shifting the costs of climate action onto these rich polluters while prioritizing economic, racial, and gender justice.

We call on elected leaders to:
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Commit to a national climate plan, in line with the international Paris Agreement and international human rights law, to rapidly phase out emissions causing the climate crisis.
Support the Environmental Justice for All Act to fund public health initiatives in communities on the frontlines of environmental pollution.
Scale up U.S. assistance to lower-income countries grappling with the impacts of climate change and invest in clean energy technologies to help countries transition off dirty fossil fuels.
End costly subsidies for fossil fuel production.
Support investments in safer, cleaner, and more affordable homes that don’t run on fossil fuels and reduce our climate pollution.
Step up US international cooperation on climate commitments, including to phase out super-pollutants like methane.
Do not approve any new Liquefied Methane Gas exportation facilities that dramatically increase climate pollution and have devastating consequences for surrounding communities.

More on climate change and inequality
Women’s rights & gender justice

Oxfam partners with feminist and women’s rights leaders and movements to end gender discrimination, elevate the value of care work, and help people of all genders strengthen their voice and leadership.

We call on elected leaders to:
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Protect the rights of people who become pregnant by supporting the right to legal, safe, and accessible abortion.
Invest in national care economies that provide care-supporting infrastructure and healthcare services including universal access to safe water and, access to quality health care
Pass laws that expand access to and increase funding for childcare, as well as care services for the elderly and people with disabilities
Enact policies including the FAMILY Act that support people with caregiving responsibilities in their workplaces, including comprehensive paid family and medical leave and flexible schedules
Permanently expand the child tax credit (CTC), including an increase in the amount for each child and making the credit fully refundable.

More on women's rights and gender justice
Voting rights

Voting rights are a critical part of a more equal future in which everyone is able to thrive. Voters of color are systematically disenfranchised through racist policies that block their access to the ballot box.
We call on elected leaders to:
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End barriers to voting that disproportionately affect communities of color and efforts to reduce the power of those communities by passing the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.