From early childhood to the job market, training and qualification opportunities are unevenly distributed, reinforcing the disparities that come from birth and have nothing to do with merit or personal effort. This message was reinforced in a new OECD report, released last week, focusing on adult skills and abilities (Skills Outlook 2025). Brazil did not participate in the investigation, but there is no doubt — based on the evidence from the national studies — that the conclusions also apply to our case.
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One of the most relevant findings of the OECD study is that socio-economic level (parental education and income) is the main factor explaining differences in skills and abilities among adults. This is a factor over which individuals have no influence and which is also verified in the analyzes of the determinants of academic performance.
In fact, even before entering primary school, significant differences – which have nothing to do with effort or merit – are already identified in 5-year-old children. The report mentions that at this age, children of parents with lower income and education experience delays in their cognitive development of up to 20 months compared to those who were lucky enough to be born into a more socio-economically privileged home. Access to effective early childhood policies can reduce or even eliminate these delays in the first years of life. But this requires quality, intersectoral actions. The evidence that this is possible is encouraging, but the challenge is that it is not enough to resolve disparities at this point.
In primary and secondary education too, access to opportunities is unequal, a fact already known but not naturalizable. The OECD study, however, shows that the same thing happens in adult life, when it comes to vocational training programs. Adults born into households with wealthier and more educated parents also have greater access to qualification and reskilling opportunities.
Another finding of the study is that people with similar family backgrounds and the same level of skills and abilities have similar income levels in the job market. This is a somewhat expected result, but one that does not occur when comparing men and women. In other words, even with similar characteristics and the same level of skills, women still receive less than men in the labor market. There are several possible explanations for this, and one of the most relevant is occupational segregation, that is, the fact that they are underrepresented in careers with greater economic prestige.
No country in the world has managed to completely eliminate inequality. This is probably an impossible goal. Differences resulting from skill, effort, or personal choice will always influence outcomes in any area. The problem is not there, but rather in the unequal distribution of opportunities. This is what public policies must act on, seeking to correct the unjust inequalities inherited from birth and perpetuated throughout life.
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