Two cents from the desk of Irene Mosota, CEO of Knowledge Bridge
Class is one of those topics that has been tabooed. In the United Kingdom class has arguably often been framed from within and without as a peculiarly “British issue, which has preoccupied the minds of British people for decades”. In some ways this allows for the issue to be set aside as one that is not appropriate to speak about. George Orwell wrote in 1941 that he saw the British “as the most class-ridden country under the sun” (1982, p53). This issue continues to infiltrate society in a variety of ways. The purpose of this blog is to look at class in the workplace through the lens of diversity and inclusion.
Classism although unseen is still a very real issue. It is manifested in all facets of society but most prominently in the workplace. Social class refers to how a society is divided socially and economically. It is usually determined by the background a person has—their parents’ earnings, where they grew up, what schools they attended. People of the same class background usually have a similar level of income, education, and job level.
Social class can be broadly broken down into 3 categories: working class, middle class, and upper class. The working class typically work at routine and manual jobs like clerical jobs, factory work, construction etc. and have minimal education. The middle class stereotypically have a university degree and have professional jobs, typically in an office. The upper class are considered the elite of the society and are usually company owners.
According to a Social Mobility Commission poll conducted in 2019, 77% of Britons feel there’s massive class divide today. Despite 50% of people believing that the central government should do more to improve social mobility, the discussion of class seems to be the forgotten child in the diversity debate.
A study conducted by Colombia University showed that the chances of people from lower class backgrounds attaining a managerial position were 32% lower than those from higher class backgrounds. This gap is greater than the gap between men and women (28%) and African Americans and white people (25%) attaining a managerial position. Studies have shown that social class disadvantage in the workplace exists in every major world economy. Yet, perplexingly class as a determinant of success in the workplace is still less talked about than race and gender. Why is this so?
Depiction of the middle class versus the working class. Source: OECD (https://www.oecd.org/inclusive-growth/inequality-and-opportunity/)
Social class is not a visible attribute like race and gender, so it isn’t always obvious. Often there is an assumption that class is somewhat correlated with race and ethnicity and so is not directly targeted by policies. However, our class can become evident as soon as we speak—via our accents. Accents are determined based on where we grew up. Unless we learn other accents, the accent we have from childhood is our lifelong accent. This bias shows up from the hiring process. Research shows that people thought to be from a working-class background are less likely to be hired into professional occupations than their middle-class counterparts if the person hiring is middle-class. This means that if a middle-class interviewer hears an accent that isn’t similar to theirs, the chances are they will reject the applicant.
According to the Social Mobility Commission in the United Kingdom, someone from a higher class background is 60% more likely to get a professional job than someone from a lower class background. Reasons for this include assessing whether an applicant will fit in with the culture of an organization. This can come down to something as arbitrary as hobbies. Also, some companies hire from and are affiliated specific (usually prestigious) universities, inevitably ostracizing graduates from other (less prestigious) universities. Most people from privileged backgrounds end up in more prestigious universities since their families can afford to send them to private schools which gives them more opportunities. In cases like this, candidates from other universities aren’t even given the opportunity to be interviewed for positions in those companies where people from middle- and upper-class backgrounds are usually employed, limiting social mobility for the working class.
The class bias does not end there for the working class. A study by The Guardian found that working-class people who go to elite universities and professions earn £6,400 less than their middle-class peers, making it harder for them to transition to middle-class. Class disparity is not the only reason for the pay gap. Other factors such as hard work, training, and more years of experience also count. However, after taking these factors into consideration, the same study showed that there was still a pay gap of about £5,000. After further research, The Guardian discovered that after university, people from privileged backgrounds usually moved to big cities like London, aided by their families who can support them to make the move, where pay is usually higher. It also found that there was workplace segregation where certain high-paying jobs were done by mostly middle-class people, so it was not a case of working-class people getting paid less for doing the same job as middle-class people. In the case of one firm, only 7% of workers in the commissioning department (the department with the highest salary) were from working-class backgrounds.
At 39, Mark* is a senior commissioner at one of Britain’s biggest broadcasters with access to a budget in the millions. Speaking with The Guardian, Mark described his background as privileged as he went to private schools in London before studying at Oxford University. He acknowledges that he’s privileged but also knows that he worked hard to end up where he is: ‘I’ve seen lots of peers with greater networks and privilege screw up because they just weren’t good enough. But at the same time, it is mad to pretend there’s not been an incredibly strong following wind throughout my career.’
The ‘following wind’ Mark referred to in his interview explains why the managerial gap exists. The research found that there was a ‘class ceiling’. Their research found that to progress in your career, you would need help. This can come from your parents, peers or more commonly, from a senior leader in the organization. How it works is: a senior leader identifies a junior staff member who they would like to sponsor. The decision to sponsor is usually social—for example, the senior leader went to the same school as the junior or he/she is friends with the junior’s parents—not performance based, and usually ends up fast-tracking the junior’s career by coaching them and introducing them to special opportunities. As well as this decision having implications for class, using an intersectional lens, it also means that it normally tends to be someone of the same gender, race or ethnicity. This can compound disadvantages and therefore exacerbate inequalities.
Mentor helping out a mentee. Source: Pinterest (https://www.pinterest.com/pin/364017582359572233/)
The Guardian research found that people from working-class backgrounds tried to move up the career ladder by working hard and socializing with the upper-class. This was often done by mimicking their behaviour as they thought that was needed to progress, putting them in an uncomfortable situation, making them feel disingenuous. When their efforts didn’t produce the expected results, most of them gave up on trying to progress as quickly in their careers. It is disheartening that the majority of workplaces do not welcome a diversity of classes but instead further isolate them.
Even with upward mobility, most Britons don’t seem to believe you can ever leave your social class. According to the 2016 survey of British social attitudes, despite the fact that only 25% Brits have routine and manual jobs, 60% of the population consider themselves working class. This phenomenon is termed a ‘working class of the mind’. Scottish activist Darren McGarvey believes this phenomenon exists because our class is ingrained in us. As we can’t change our skin without serious work, we can’t change where we came from. Interestingly, McGarvey argues this is partly down to more awareness of inequalities which leads to the upper and middle class wanting to create a perception of understanding and avoid any acknowledgement of advantages they may have enjoyed. McGarvey was born in an impoverished part of Glasgow to an alcoholic mother but has since climbed the class ladder to become middle class. He says he finds himself conflicted on which class he belongs to because he believes that one can never fully remove themselves from the circumstances of their birth. This makes the prospect of intergenerational mobility a trying goal.
When people from working-class backgrounds eventually make it into elite professions, they feel uncomfortable because they have little in common their middle-class colleagues due to their very different backgrounds even if they share a profession.
Luke* is in his early 30s and lives in Northern Ireland. His mother didn’t attend university, so she encouraged him to attend. After graduating, Luke had a bunch of odd jobs. Eventually, he completed a year-long training programme at a major accounting firm. While he was there, he felt extremely uncomfortable. When listening to his colleagues, he realized they had very different experiences from what he’d had growing up. He mentioned overhearing one of his colleagues mention sending his shirts out to be ironed, which to Luke sounded like an ‘unimaginable luxury’.
Speaking to BBC, Luke recalled that while working at the company, he saw connected workers get promoted over more experienced people. This crushed his belief that hard work alone guaranteed success. ‘That’s just not how it is anymore. You need to have starting capital, you need to have connections or parents,’ he said. When it became clear to him that it would take him a longer time than his colleagues to get promotions, he left the company.
A major reason people from working class backgrounds are unable to gain access to, and to a larger extent, reach managerial positions at prestigious companies, is the lack of class diversity at the managerial level in those organizations. In the UK civil service, only 18% of its senior staff are from a low social class background.
Source: KEEPCALMANDPOSTERS 2015.
More inclusive HR policies
To mitigate and reduce the class barriers in organizations, they have to revise their HR policies around the dignity, empathy, authenticity and respect (DEAR) of all employees. This looks like having conversations to understand how people from lower classes feel about your organization and borrow from our values of respect and authenticity such that they are welcomed to be themselves. It is also important that all promotions and hirings are based on merit and talent, not nepotism. It important to examine the concept of merit and talent and question our norms about what good looks like and what we mean by merit. It will ensure that we don’t apply frames that are exclusionary.
Mentorship programmes
Leadership in organizations should consider class as much as race and gender are considered. It is not enough to have programs for people from disadvantaged backgrounds. The program should also have a formalised buddy or mentorship system which will give people from lower classes access to people from privileged backgrounds, thus expanding their connections and increasing their chances at upward mobility. It is important that senior team members use our value of empathy when passing on their knowledge in mentorship programmes for people from lower class backgrounds.
Targeted recruitment
Companies can also increase the class diversity by having representation targets based on socioeconomic status as most companies do for other protected characteristics.
To diversify management teams, the UK government is proposing moving some senior positions away from London to encourage applications from people from the lower class and increase their chances of getting the job. The government is also trying to incentivise other employers to do something similar. The expectation is that this will increase the class diversity in management teams.
Though the class gap may never fully close, the goal is to work towards having equal opportunity workplaces which will eventually lead to helping organisation create a better world.
*Not their real names.