Lord John Nash and his wife co-founded Future in 2005, launching the charity to support disadvantaged young people. This article will look at the Social Mobility Foundation, an organisation committed to amplifying the voices of young people from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds.
Irrespective of background, being fairly rewarded at work is a basic expectation. However, according to research from the Social Mobility Foundation, when it comes to remuneration it pays to come from a privileged background.
According to the charity’s report, employees from a working-class background receive an average of 12% less wages per year than more privileged co-workers working in the same role, equating to an average annual shortfall of £6,287. This means that, by the end of this parliament, an individual from a working class background could be around £30,000 worse off than those from more affluent families – around the cost of the average university degree.
Millions of UK workers are missing out, with 39% of the labour force coming from lower socioeconomic demographics. The number of disadvantaged UK workers exceeds the entire population of London, Leeds and Manchester combined. This disparity is not only holding back brilliant people but the UK economy as a whole, with research from Demos and Co-op indicating that increasing social mobility in workplaces could boost the British GDP by circa £19 billion annually, potentially generating £6.8 billion in tax revenues, providing funding for more than 800,000 school places.
The UK has successfully addressed similar societal challenges in the past and – as the Social Mobility Foundation points out – is capable of doing it again. The government has implemented measures designed to tackle inequities, for example introducing gender pay gap reporting, which marked a historic moment in the fight for gender equality. Its introduction paved the way for a decrease in the gender pay gap to 7% in 2023 versus 9% in 2017. Taking this a step further, the Social Mobility Foundation is calling on the government to introduce mandatory socioeconomic reporting for large employers with the aim of breaking down barriers to opportunity and unlocking the growth the country desperately needs.
Forward-thinking employers have clearly demonstrated that measuring the class pay gap is achievable, with 19 organisations employing almost 135,000 workers collectively already collating and publishing their socioeconomic pay gap data. Participants include KPMG, PwC, Co-op and Teach First.
The Social Mobility Foundation is dedicated to helping ambitious young people facing structural barriers in work and education due to their socioeconomic background. The organisation’s mission is to create a future where talent from all backgrounds is harnessed, nurtured and rewarded. Since the foundation’s launch in 2005, its staff and trustees have worked tirelessly to directly support young people and break down barriers.
Every year, the Social Mobility Foundation welcomes thousands of young people through its Aspiring Professionals Programme, a concept geared towards increasing social mobility. The foundation also influences employers to invest in creating more diverse workforces through its Social Mobility Employer Index and campaigns on social mobility issues through its Department for Opportunities.
Launched with the ethos that success should be measured by ability rather than where an individual was born, went to school, or the occupation of their parents or guardians, the Social Mobility Foundation is committed to ensuring equality, with its team of social mobility experts working closely with partners in business and civil society to create a future where all talent is harnessed, nurtured and rewarded irrespective of social background.
With 90% of Social Mobility Foundation service users receiving university offers and 60% going on to study at top universities, the Social Mobility Foundation fosters a living community that encourages growth, confidence and contribution, changing systems and perspectives to enable young people to overcome obstacles and access life-changing education, training and employment opportunities.
