#ClassPayGapDay - one of the reasons we’re here to help
From a working class background? Bad luck.
A year after the Creative Industries Policy & Evidence Centre reported that the creative industries are missing 250,000 working class voices, new research by The Social Mobility Foundation shows those who do have a job are being paid £6718 per year less than peers at a similar managerial level.
The research was published on Monday 14 November, named #ClassPayGapDay to mark the moment when working class people effectively stop earning for the year in contrast with their better off colleagues.
The Foundation’s research sets out class pay gap figures and includes a breakdown by ethnicity, gender, profession and geographical region.
The work builds on previous research by the academics Professor Sam Friedman and Dr. Daniel Laurison who originally conceived of the Class Pay Gap.
Their book The Class Ceiling: Why it Pays to be Privileged informed much of the thinking around the development of Socially Mobile. Each of the community interest company’s Steering Group members has a copy.
Sarah Atkinson, chief executive of The Social Mobility Foundation, said:
“We’ve always known that it’s harder for people from working class backgrounds to get into top careers – this research shows that even when they do get in, it’s harder to get on. The barriers they face add up to a pay gap of nearly £7000 a year. That’s totally unfair on those individuals, and it’s a shameful waste of talent and skills. But it doesn’t have to be this way!
“The evidence shows the key drivers of workplace class disadvantage are that more privileged people are better networked, fit into the dominant culture and present as more ‘polished’. None of this means they are more talented or perform better in role. We want to see more employers measuring their class pay gap and committing to action – and we hope that our campaigns also make people from working class backgrounds feel seen.”
The issue is a deep-rooted and persistent one and intersectional too.
According to The Social Mobility Foundation, women are paid £9,450 less than their male colleagues, even when they are both working in higher professional-managerial positions. People who are of Bangladeshi and Black Caribbean heritage are paid £10,432 and £8,770 less respectively than their White peers in the same jobs.
Now the Foundation is asking employers to add their voices to the call for Class Pay Gap reporting - and to start it in their own organisations without delay.
Sarah Waddington CBE, co-founder of Socially Mobile said:
“Industry data from the last few years has made it clear that routes into PR have been narrowing rather than widening and that opportunities for those from lower socio-economic backgrounds and under-represented groups remain fairly few and far between. It’s why Stephen and I created Socially Mobile to act as a specific industry intervention.
“These longstanding inequalities must be addressed and there is no time to waste. The good news is that I’m confident our alumni are the future leaders who will lead this much needed change.”
Co-founder Stephen Waddington added:
“While this is utterly depressing reading, kudos to The Social Mobility Foundation for highlighting the issue and creating national awareness of a problem that can quickly and easily be solved with the appropriate business practice.
“Any discrepancy in pay due to background and personal circumstances is unacceptable. We will continue to support our students to increase their earning potential within the PR industry until the class pay gap has not just shrunk but disappeared.”
UK class pay gap data across 15 elite occupations was reviewed between 2014-2021. You can read more about the methodology and results here.