Economics professor John Friedman and corporate lawyer Sophie Pender discuss the impact of childhood inequality and class discrimination in the workplace. They explore strategies for promoting diversity, overcoming discrimination, and addressing upward mobility challenges. The podcast highlights the formation of the 93% Club, a network dedicated to supporting state-educated students.
Navigating the workplace and lacking workplace knowledge are significant challenges for individuals from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, hindering their career progression.
Students from low and middle income backgrounds face barriers to entry at elite universities, affecting diversity and access to leadership positions, necessitating investment in human and social capital to create opportunities and increase mobility for disadvantaged individuals.
Deep dives
The challenges of classism in the workplace
One of the biggest issues in classism in the workplace revolves around the hidden aspects, such as navigating the workplace, making faux pas, or lacking nuanced knowledge that parents with workplace experience would provide. Coming from a lower socioeconomic background is the biggest impediment to career progression, according to KPMG's research. The podcast episode features Sophie Pender, founder of the 93% club, a UK network that supports state-educated students, as she discusses her experiences and efforts to offer opportunities to those from less privileged backgrounds.
The impact of class inequality on social mobility
Research by Professor John Friedman reveals that students from low and middle income backgrounds in the US are underrepresented at elite universities due to preferences for high-income applicants. This has implications for diversity and access to influential leadership positions. While relative mobility has remained stable, absolute mobility has decreased, with reduced chances of upward mobility from poverty. Low social mobility can have social and economic repercussions. Professor Friedman suggests investing in human and social capital, as well as establishing partnerships between businesses and communities, to create opportunities for disadvantaged individuals.
Addressing class barriers in the workplace
Overcoming class barriers in the workplace involves increasing representation, fostering community, and investing in individuals' professional and social development. Professor Friedman emphasizes the importance of mentorship and providing resources to help individuals realize their career potential. The podcast highlights the benefits of having staff from diverse backgrounds and suggests practical steps for managers, including paying expenses for interviews and being mindful of different backgrounds and expectations.
We’re getting better at talking about the roles that gender and race play in career progression. What’s less spoken about is class or social mobility. In this episode, host Isabel Berwick talks to John Friedman, professor and chair of economics at Brown University, who studies the impact of childhood inequality, and hears from Sophie Pender, a London-based corporate lawyer and founder of the 93% Club, a UK network that connects and empowers people who went to state school, about how class discrimination continues to affect people at work and what to do about it.
Do you have a workplace dilemma? Isabel and Jonathan Black, director of the careers service at Oxford university, are on hand to help you out. Submit it using this link.
Presented by Isabel Berwick, produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval, mixed by Simon Panayi. The executive producer is Manuela Saragosa. Cheryl Brumley is the FT’s head of audio.