The Impact of Social Background on Career Progress
Wednesday 21st June 2023
This article first appeared in leading HR publication People Management and can be read here.
Research published by KPMG in December 2022 showed socioeconomic background has a greater impact on someone’s career progression within the firm than any other diversity characteristic. By assessing individuals based on the parental occupation of the highest earner in the household at the age of 15 – a common measure backed by the Social Mobility Commission – KPMG found those with lower socioeconomic backgrounds take an average 19 per cent longer to progress to the next grade.
A 2021 survey of 1,000 individuals by the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) revealed that one third of respondents believe socioeconomic background is a barrier to progression to executive levels, and 31 per cent feel it prevents them from reaching middle management positions.
Clearly there are challenges to address. While gender, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation and age are all protected characteristics under discrimination law, coming from a deprived socioeconomic environment is not – despite its clear negative impact.
It is difficult, however, to determine whether it is discrimination, both direct and indirect, that is preventing employees from poorer backgrounds from progressing. In any case, employers need to closely examine development and promotion policies to ensure employees with poorer backgrounds are not disproportionately impacted, as seen in other diversity and inclusion strategies.
It is unlikely that the government will give socioeconomic background protected characteristic status anytime soon. So, in the absence of any ‘legislative kick’ to fuel change, the onus is firmly on employers to bridge this critical equality gap.
Taking proactive steps
At entry level, the growing popularity of apprenticeships and degree apprenticeships gives a chance to those who cannot access or afford university. Typically, apprentices train to become qualified professionals through a combination of hands-on experience and academic study, in most cases with the employer paying their salary and course fees to ensure they don’t accumulate any student debt.
However, this route is not always possible within organisations and does not necessarily present a solution for those who have already started their career journey and are looking to progress. KPMG and the CMI’s research identifies career bottlenecks, with colleagues from lower socioeconomic environments often finding it harder to progress to middle management positions.
Ultimately, good management is crucial to overcoming the barriers of an employee’s background. Appraisal systems and proactive training should be in place through entry level and beyond, giving direct reports the opportunity to identify talent and reward progress.
Driving competitive advantage
The reality is any organisation that goes above and beyond when it comes to diversity in the workplace is likely to create a competitive advantage – certainly in attracting and retaining talent in a challenging jobs market.
KPMG’s research was part of its own commitment to social mobility, which saw the firm become one of the first organisations to publish a social mobility pay gap in 2021. But you should expect other large employers to follow suit as they go beyond legal requirements on reporting diversity characteristics and taking steps to bridge gaps.
With good management, structured training and effective programmes to support new starters, there is no reason that firms can’t start to increase the percentage of low socioeconomic background employees in senior positions.
