Class is main barrier in financial services

Social class is a bigger barrier to career progression in financial services than gender or ethnicity, a new report from non-profit consultancy The Bridge Group claims.

Employees from higher socio-economic backgrounds are more than twice as likely to be in senior roles than those from lower class backgrounds, as measured by schooling, parental qualifications and occupations, and eligibility for free school meals. By comparison, men in financial services progress just 2% faster than women, while half of senior roles in the sector are held by White people from a higher socio-economic background.

Overall, the survey of 150,000 people found that White men from higher class backgrounds are 30 times more likely to be found in senior positions compared with working-class women from BAME backgrounds.