Class can affect your life chances.
Children who show signs of low academic ability at the age of five, but who come from high-income families, are 35% more likely to become high earners than those who show signs of high ability but come from poorer families.
In January, research by the Social Mobility Commission showed that, on average, professionals from poorer families earn almost £7,000 a year less than those from wealthier backgrounds.
Not only do rich people get a disproportionate number of top jobs, but inequality also exists among colleagues with exactly the same role, education and experience. On average, those from poorer families will earn 7% less than their peers, equivalent to around £2,242 a year.
Stefan Stern, director of the High Pay Centre which campaigns for greater income equality, says businesses need to do more to tackle the problem. “Britain has been struggling with this for such a long time,” he says. “There are occasional shifts and improvements, but it’s such a long-term, deep-seated thing – and it’s not clear to me that it’s getting any better. The real test is not just who they recruit, but who’s there five or 10 years later and what’s happened to them,” says Stern. “It’s a systemic problem, and short-term and PR measures aren’t going to change anything.”
Children who show signs of low academic ability at the age of five, but who come from high-income families, are 35% more likely to become high earners than those who show signs of high ability but come from poorer families.
In January, research by the Social Mobility Commission showed that, on average, professionals from poorer families earn almost £7,000 a year less than those from wealthier backgrounds.
Not only do rich people get a disproportionate number of top jobs, but inequality also exists among colleagues with exactly the same role, education and experience. On average, those from poorer families will earn 7% less than their peers, equivalent to around £2,242 a year.
Stefan Stern, director of the High Pay Centre which campaigns for greater income equality, says businesses need to do more to tackle the problem. “Britain has been struggling with this for such a long time,” he says. “There are occasional shifts and improvements, but it’s such a long-term, deep-seated thing – and it’s not clear to me that it’s getting any better. The real test is not just who they recruit, but who’s there five or 10 years later and what’s happened to them,” says Stern. “It’s a systemic problem, and short-term and PR measures aren’t going to change anything.”
Lee Elliot Major, CEO of the Sutton Trust, a thinktank focused on social mobility, agrees. “We seem to be going backwards in the workplace rather than forwards. It’s not just wages, it’s also whether the jobs have progression in them. We’re almost going back to Victorian times in terms of inequality and opportunity."
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