Advancing living wages for social justice: A solutions session at the Second World Summit for Social Development (WSSD2)
Date: 4 November 2025
Time: 13:15 – 14:30 CET
Location: Room 5 at the WSSD2 Venue, Doha, Qatar and online
Join the World Benchmarking Alliance (WBA), IDH – The Sustainable Trade Initiative, the UN Global Compact, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), and the Governments of the Netherlands and Germany for a 75-minute high-level, interactive solutions session at the Second World Summit for Social Development (WSSD2).
More than a century after the International Labour Organization (ILO) enshrined the principle of a living wage in its 1919 Constitution—and twenty-five years after the first World Summit for Social Development (WSSD1) in Copenhagen—this session will convene business leaders, investors, governments, trade unions and civil society to highlight living wages as a cornerstone of social justice and to co-create concrete actions to close global living wage gaps.
The recognition of living wages continues to grow, with their inclusion in the draft WSSD2 Political Declaration underscoring the central role Living Wages play in advancing decent work (SDG 8), strengthening social cohesion, and building resilient supply chains.
The session will:
- Share company insights on challenges and solutions in operationalising living wage commitments.
- Strengthen collaboration between governments, business, investors, and civil society to scale impact.
- Kickstart the development of country- and sector-level action plans for 2026 and beyond.
Who should join this webinar?
- Business leaders
- Investors and financial institutions
- Governments & policymakers
- Civil society & trade unions
About the coalition: This event is part of a growing global movement to make living wages the norm, not the exception. WBA, IDH, UN Global Compact, Unilever, the Business Commission to Tackle Inequality, Shift and the Platform Living Wage Financials have jointly issued a Call to Action to UN Member States to ensure that living wages are prioritised in the WSSD2 process and resulting declaration. Read and support the call to action here.
All participants who wish to participate in person must also complete official registration via the World Social Summit website
Please register your interest by filling out this form