Time for a change, was how social affairs ministers summed up their major meeting at the OECD in March–the first in seven years. Rather than merely insuring against misfortune, social policies must become pro-active, stressing investment in people’s capabilities and the realisation of their potential.

“The greatest of evils and the worst of crimes is poverty”. George Bernard Shaw wrote these words in 1907. Today, a century later, his observation is truer than ever, for it is against the backdrop of today’s wealthy OECD countries that the costs of poverty seem both so large and reprehensible.

A new social agenda was promised at the 1998 OECD social policy ministerial meeting. Will the promise be kept this time? A focus on the quality of jobs would help.

Governments have to reform pensions, not just to make them affordable, but sustainable and adequate as well. A major challenge, but there are solutions.

There are good business reasons why companies should work on improving their social performance.

Are work and family life compatible? Balancing jobs and family life is a challenge throughout the OECD area, and more effort is needed to make this easier for parents that want to work. Governments can help.

There are many economic barriers in OECD labour markets that women have to face. Trying to overcome them is a job governments can help them with. The conundrum is which ones to tackle first.

We, the OECD ministers responsible for social policies, met in Paris on 31 March-1 April 2005, to discuss “Extending opportunities: how active social policies can benefit us all”.

The OECD is once again hosting a meeting of social policy ministers. The last meeting took place seven years ago. Then, priorities and challenges were identified that needed to be addressed urgently in OECD countries. Many of these issues are still on the agenda today.

Much social progress has been made in recent decades. But there are several serious problems that stubbornly remain on the agenda.

Does social policy help or hinder economic growth? Is it possible to reconcile work and family life, or must this be a tough choice that only parents should make? In this OECD Observer roundtable to mark the 2005 social affairs ministerial meeting under the theme, Extending opportunities: How active social policy can benefit us all, we have invited ministers from a cross-section of OECD countries to answer the following questions: