Addressing health inequalities

Legal & General describes its ethos as ‘inclusive capitalism’ – a recognition that the benefits of economic growth must be shared by all. Through our strategies, we target investments that address societal and environmental needs, whilst securing lasting value for society.

Health is a critical factor in driving societal and economic wellbeing and has a vital role to play as we work to help the UK ’level up’. Work to date has examined how government and the NHS can reduce health inequity, but until now no-one has really considered the role that business can play.

We aim to change that by playing a leading role in a new mission to help business use its scale and influence to tackle the injustice of health inequity across the UK, partnering with Professor Sir Michael Marmot at University College London; a world expert on health inequity.

Sir Michael’s research has shown that the key drivers of health inequality aren’t the things you might find in hospitals or GP surgeries. They are the conditions in which people grow, live, work and age – known as the social determinants of health. But not everyone has the same opportunities to lead a healthy life. Health inequity is the idea that there are unfair, unjust, and biologically avoidable differences in health outcomes between different population groups. These are typically the result of systems that negatively affect people’s living conditions.