
More than 200 people became billionaires in 2024, according to a report published by Oxfam during the World Economic Forum in Davos. That’s almost four new billionaires per week. Meanwhile, the number of people living under the World Bank poverty line of $6.85 (£5.50) a day has remained unchanged since 1990.
We know that this rapidly growing wealth gap presents a threat to both society and businesses, affecting everything from supply-chain resilience to talent pools. How to assess and manage that risk, however, continues to evade the corporate world.
Introducing the TISFD
One possible solution is to bring social-related financial risks – areas such as employee pay, supply-chain practices and customers’ wellbeing – into the realm of standardised corporate disclosures. This is the thinking behind the Taskforce on Inequality and Social-related Financial Disclosures (TISFD), which formed last year with the aim of finally helping investors manage social impact within their portfolios.
Last week, the taskforce appointed a steering committee, made up of 25 senior executives from financial institutions, businesses and non-profit organisations. Members include leaders from ING, Axa and Oxfam.
From here, a pilot beta framework is expected to be released publicly at the start of 2026. It is a bold step and one that could transform how companies operate. How it will be received by investors and stakeholders globally, however, remains to be seen.
The drawbacks of new disclosures
While tackling inequalities should be more of a priority for business leaders than it has been, there is a risk that standard disclosures on such a complex issue will create more problems than it solves.
It represents a significant expansion of sustainability reporting that will require time, expertise and resources to be performed with any degree of success. This, at a time when the reporting burden on financial institutions and businesses, from both regulators and stakeholders, has arguably already reached breaking point. Seven in ten UK sustainability decision-makers say increasing levels of reporting requirements are preventing their teams from delivering impactful programmes, according to a 2024 survey.
It’s also questionable whether yet another disclosure standard or framework is needed alongside the EU’s European Sustainability Reporting Standards and the IFRS sustainability reporting standards.
Last year, TISFD held a consultation on its proposed mandate, scope, materiality approach and governance structure from April to August, receiving more than 1,000 responses. In a published summary of those findings, participants expressed doubts about the creation of a brand new disclosure framework, instead of simply expanding on existing ones.
Any attempt to be everything to everyone is both unrealistic and risky
As one participant says: “Why not ensure that indicators and assessments of social and inequality issues are directly integrated in the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD)?”
Concerns about the sheer scope and size of the framework have also been raised. By covering such a broad range of issues – from human rights, labour practices and community engagement to diversity and inclusion and supply-chain management – it risks encompassing everything and anything related to the ‘S’ of ‘ESG’, hampering its overall effectiveness.
The lack of any previous framework highlights the deep complexity of social issues. Inequality, for instance, has different meanings across countries and communities. Any attempt to be everything to everyone is both unrealistic and risky. One of the biggest challenges will be to design a framework that still allows for comparison between companies, while overcoming long-standing political disagreements about inequality.
Meanwhile, as one of the less-discussed financial considerations in institutional investment, data on areas like diversity and income is patchy at best. If companies are not able to disclose enough detailed and decision-useful information, it will lead to a lack of transparency for investors trying to assess the potential financial impacts of social inequality.
The task force’s goals are commendable. But, with multiple reporting standards keeping companies busy there is a risk additional disclosure will come at the expense of tangible impact. Surely businesses’ and investors’ time is better spent on initiatives that tackle the root causes of inequality, rather than juggling yet more disclosures.

More than 200 people became billionaires in 2024, according to a report published by Oxfam during the World Economic Forum in Davos. That's almost four new billionaires per week. Meanwhile, the number of people living under the World Bank poverty line of $6.85 (£5.50) a day has remained unchanged since 1990.
We know that this rapidly growing wealth gap presents a threat to both society and businesses, affecting everything from supply-chain resilience to talent pools. How to assess and manage that risk, however, continues to evade the corporate world.