22 Men Richer Than 'All The Women In Africa Combined' - Fresh Report

Economic inequality is widening across the world and women in particular are feeling its effects as care work remains undervalued, according to a new report by anti-poverty charity Oxfam.

The world's 22 richest men, for instance, own more wealth than all 325 million women in Africa combined, Oxfam's Time to Care report showed.

"When 22 men have more wealth than all the women in Africa combined, it's clear that our economy is just plain sexist," Danny Sriskandarajah, chief executive at Oxfam Great Britain said in conjunction with the report's publication on Monday.

Published in advance of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where world leaders will meet this week, Oxfam's report highlighted how women are "chronically undervalued" for unpaid care work, Sriskandarajah said.

"If world leaders meeting this week are serious about reducing poverty and inequality, they urgently need to invest in care and other public services that make life easier for those with care responsibilities, and tackle discrimination holding back women and girls," he said.

Women risk being trapped in poverty with little time to get an education, earn a decent living or have a say in how society is run, Sriskandarajah added.