There has been an increase in technology and creative sector employers on the Social Mobility Foundation’s annual employer index.
The index showed a 60% annual increase in employers in the tech sector, and a 43% rise in the creative industries – two sectors that have historically had poor records on socio-economic diversity.
However, fewer than one in 10 employees in the tech sector come from a working class background, and that figure is 26% in the creative sector.
The Social Mobility Foundation noted that the Tech Talent Charter – a non-profit organisation driving diversity and inclusion among digital employers – closed this summer, citing a lack of commitment from the sector.
Social mobility
Across the UK workforce, 39% of employees are from a working class background, according to its data.
Law firm Browne Jacobson and consulting firm PwC topped the index jointly, with both having held the top spot in previous years.
In third place was accounting firm Grant Thornton. The top 75 list of employers was dominated by law firms, taking up 31 places.
The Social Mobility Foundation urged the government to introduce mandatory data collection on socio-economic background so larger employers can drive change.
Chief executive Sarah Atkinson said: “We’ve got a productivity problem in this country. We need to make the most of all the UK’s talents – it’s the key to unlocking growth.
“But too many people from working-class backgrounds are being shut out of our workplaces and held back from reaching their potential.
“Large employers are now expected to track gender pay gaps and they will need to do the same for ethnicity and disability very soon.”
The government has already committed to enacting the socio-economic duty in the Equality Act, but this will only apply to the public sector. “The next step is to extend that to the private sector,” Atkinson added.
Martin Currie, chief executive of PR firm Citypress, said that a quarter of practitioners in his sector went to private school, compared to 7% of the general population.
Citypress appeared on the index for the first time this year, at 54.
“And yet original, creative thinking – the critical ingredient of any high-performing campaign – requires a diverse team in the room, especially when you’re trying to connect with a diverse audience,” he said.
“That’s one of the reasons that socioeconomic diversity has become so important to us.
“Being open-minded and focusing on the skills and experiences young people can offer – rather than connections or internships they have – is a core part of how I ended up working where I am today, and I am grateful for that opportunity,” said Daniel Dipper, graduate delivery manager at financial data management company FINBOURNE.
According to Accenture, businesses that prioritise social mobility perform 1.4 times better than their competitors. One of the stated priorities of the government’s new Office for Equality and Opportunity will be to address socio-economic disparities.
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