INQUIRY URGES END TO BOSSES "CLOSED SHOP" ON PAY AS WIDENING GULF THREATENS TRUST IN BRITISH BUSINESS

With new figures showing increases of well over 4000% in the last 30 years, excessive high pay for the UK's top executives is "corrosive" to the economy, to companies and to society as a whole by rewarding failure, undermining productivity and damaging trust in British business, a year-long inquiry by the High Pay Commission concludes today.

Its report, "Cheques with Balances: Why Tackling High Pay is in the National Interest", shows stratospheric pay increases which have seen wealth flow upwards to the top 0.1% away from average workers. It sets out a 12-point plan based on transparency, accountability and fairness to halt spiralling high pay that is creating inequalities last seen in the Victorian era.

The High Pay Commission's reforms include:

1. A radical simplification of executive pay
2. Putting employees on remuneration committees
3. Publishing the top ten executive pay packages outside the boardroom
4. Forcing companies to publish a pay ratio between the highest paid executive and the company median

See this article for an interview with Barbara Ibrahim, Director, Gerhart Center for Philanthropy at the American University in Cairo, about the state of philanthropy in Egypt and in Arab countries: http://pndblog.typepad.com/pndblog/2011/09/5qs-for-barbara-ibrahim.html?...

The Southern Organizing Working Group (SOWG) is an emerging network of local, regional and national funders committed to facilitating joint learning, collaboration and leveraging of new resources to help build a vibrant and enduring infrastructure for social justice in the US South. Please join us as we host an orientation and update session for current and prospective Working Group members and kick-off our Southern Social Justice Dialogue Series in a pre-session convening at the Neighborhood Funders Group Annual Conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

See the attached file for more information.

POSITION AVAILABLE - PROGRAM OFFICER
OPEN SOCIETY FOUNDATIONS / U.S. PROGRAMS

New York, NY
Democracy and Power Fund
August 2011

The Open Society Foundations work to build vibrant and tolerant democracies whose governments are accountable to their citizens. To achieve this mission, the Foundations seek to shape public policies that assure greater fairness in political, legal, and economic systems and safeguard fundamental rights. On a local level, the Open Society Foundations implement a range of initiatives to advance justice, education, public health, and independent media. At the same time, we build alliances across borders and continents on issues such as corruption and freedom of information. The Foundations place a high priority on protecting and improving the lives of people in marginalized communities.