Social mobility is a diversity category that many businesses struggle to define and engage in.
It is a complex area that can be difficult to define and measure. As a result, it’s a category that can end up at the bottom of the priority list for many firms.
What’s more, in the mortgage industry, we may sometimes be guilty of underestimating the importance of social mobility and of not viewing it as a big deal in our space. After all, mortgage and protection providers and advice companies are not bastions of inherited wealth staffed by the old boys’ network, as some of the more traditional city investment firms have long been viewed.
Our industry is made up of banks and building societies who recruit many thousands of school leavers every year, and advice firms populated by many graduates of the ‘university of life’. Or is it? Does our industry go far enough in employing, encouraging and promoting people from a wide range of socially diverse backgrounds?
The short answer is no.
Like many other industries, we have a long way to go to create a level playing field, where every individual is given the opportunity to make the most of their talents, regardless of background – and to be fairly rewarded for their success. In fact, 45% of the people working in the financial services sector come from higher socioeconomic groups, and 89% of those in senior positions have ‘professional’ backgrounds (i.e., at least one parent who worked in a ‘professional’ role).
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So as a starting point, it is important that we understand what social mobility is, why it matters, and what we can do as an industry to improve social mobility and start to create an environment where everyone can thrive.
What is social mobility?
Social mobility measures the degree to which people can change their socioeconomic status over their lifetime. The Social Mobility Commission defines a person’s starting socioeconomic position according to the socioeconomic status of their parent(s) when that person was a child of 14.
In a socially mobile society, individuals have a fair opportunity to raise their inherited circumstances, irrespective of their background, gender, and ethnicity.
It promotes the ethos that success should depend on individual effort, talent, and skills rather than the privileges an individual is born with. It promotes a more inclusive and economically balanced society.
Structures needed
People cannot be socially mobile in a vacuum. Individuals may not get their foot in the door, let alone be sufficiently rewarded for their talent and hard work, rather than inherited privilege, unless the right attitudes, structures and policies exist to get them into the workplace and facilitate their success once they arrive.
People from wealthier backgrounds often have more useful contacts (friends, family or educational mentors) than their counterparts from working-class backgrounds, who can help them get into and on in industries like financial services. So, employers need to proactively seek to ‘fish in different pools’ to attract talent from outside the usual channels.
Providing the right mentors to less experienced staff is also key. It is human nature for people to want to support those who mirror us when we were younger. So, if 89% of senior staff in financial services are from ‘professional’ backgrounds, they may automatically champion younger colleagues from similar origins. Employers in our industry need to find clear processes to allocate sponsors to override that natural inclination.
Crucially, we need to alter workplace processes so that the opportunity to carry out more high-profile work that gets seen by leaders is shared among colleagues fairly and transparently. Employers can benefit from a wider spread of talent if they don’t rely solely on those with the confidence to put their hands up to ask for projects (and ask for help).
Starting the journey
As with any entrenched problem, there is no silver bullet when it comes to promoting greater social mobility.
It needs leaders to grasp the nettle, as with any change management programme: establish the firm’s current position, decide where you want to get to, devise an appropriate plan of action, budget for it and make key people accountable for delivering the change. Sharing personal stories will not shift the dial alone, but there are many examples of highly successful people within our industry who left school at 16, who can be an inspiration to others.
Shining a spotlight on social mobility and those who have overcome it, rather than putting the issue in the ‘too difficult’ pile, is a good place to start.
Useful links:
Home – Social Mobility Commission
Socio-Economic Diversity in Financial Services – Progress Together
The Social Mobility Foundation
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