Is Social Mobility still a problem in the UK in 2022?
Yes, social mobility is still a problem in the UK in 2022. In fact, it’s a big problem!
Let’s start with what social mobility is, to understand why it is a problem at all in the modern day.
Well social mobility is, put simply, whether one generation is doing better or worse than the preceding one. Essentially, is your life outcome better than your parents’ life outcome.
Unfortunately, by any metric that you care to use, the UK ranks very near the bottom of all international league tables for social mobility.
This is caused by our entrenched deference to class in the UK, and the lack of chances for people from disadvantaged backgrounds to climb the social ladder.
To put this into perspective, a recent study conducted by Deloitte, found that your social background still impacts your opportunities in life. The data below tells a stark story for those unfortunate enough to be born to less well-off parents.
- By the age of three, poorer children are estimated to be, on average, nine months behind children from more wealthy backgrounds.
- By 16, children receiving free school meals achieve 1.7 grades lower at GCSE.
- Just 7% of children in the UK attend independent schools, but 30 per cent of all A* grades at A level are achieved by these children.
- 32% of MPs, 51% of top medics, 54% of FTSE-100 chief execs, 54% of top journalists and 70% of High Court judges went to an independent school, compared to 7% of the population.
Why is the lack of social mobility an important issue?
As previously mentioned, the UK has one of the poorest rates of social mobility in the developed world. This means that people born into low-income families, regardless of their talent, or their hard work, do not have the same access to opportunities as those born into more privileged circumstances.
For the UK to regain its stature as a world leading country, it needs to bring diversity of thought to provide innovative solutions to the biggest challenges it faces in the modern world. To do this a broad from a diverse range of backgrounds and by creating an environment that helps everyone to succeed.
How do we change to ensure Social Mobility thrives?
Schools, Colleges, Universities, and businesses all have the potential to drive social mobility forward. Every young person regardless of their social status should be given a chance to access opportunities that could otherwise pass them by. Many educational establishments are now working exceptionally hard to give these opportunities to those who may have not had anyone in their family attend college or university, or indeed, finish school.
Without this support and advice from parents, teachers, and the business community a young person is unlikely to think that further education is for them. Outreach organisations within the educational field can help cross this barrier and foster the understanding that by gaining higher qualifications it can lead to better and more well-paid job opportunities.
It is essential that good access to employment information about where jobs are located and what individuals can expect to be paid is provided to each student when they need it. Having access to excellent career information can show that some jobs are much better paid than others and it helps young people to make a much more well-informed decision on their futures. It can change the direction post educational career can take and opens a larger choice of qualification pathways.
Business leaders also have a clearly important role to play in helping to create social mobility. If a company ensures their recruitment process is open and balance, with fair opportunities available to all, regardless of social status and background, this will help to build a rich and diverse workforce.
Having business leaders from varied backgrounds, and not just those whose parents could afford a better education for their children, should eventually begin to provide role models from all walks of life. Once this approach is adapted businesses will, before too long, start to see a positive approach from dynamic individuals who will have different ways of thinking in business.
Businesses and Educational leaders now need to stand up and take action to create a more diverse socioeconomic and ethnically diverse worker background. Only when this happens can we begin to address the UK’s woeful record on Social Mobility.
