Published
Jan 6, 2020Page count
384 pagesISBN
978-1447336105Dimensions
216 x 138 mmImprint
Policy PressPublished
Jan 28, 2019Page count
384 pagesISBN
978-1447336068Dimensions
216 x 138 mmImprint
Policy PressPublished
Jan 28, 2019Page count
384 pagesISBN
978-1447336082Dimensions
Imprint
Policy PressPublished
Jan 28, 2019Page count
384 pagesISBN
978-1447336099Dimensions
Imprint
Policy PressThe Class Ceiling on BBC Two's 'How to Break into the Elite'
Download the '10 ways for employers to break the class ceiling' flyer
In the media
On our blog: ‘The Class Ceiling’ author advises No 10 on social mobility policy
On our blog: 10 ways to break the class ceiling
'Sam Friedman on Class' in Social Science Bites
'Decoding the Cultures of Elite Workplaces' in The Atlantic
'The class pay gap: why it pays to be privileged' in The Guardian Long Reads
'The Class Ceiling review – why it pays to be privileged' in The Guardian
'Better to smash the class ceiling than rage at it' in The Times
'‘The Class Ceiling’: Children of doctors and lawyers up to 24 times more likely to get top jobs' in iNews
'Doctors' children are 24 times more likely than their peers to enter the medical profession themselves, according to 'class ceiling' research' in Mail Online
'There is only one way for Scotland to shatter the class ceiling' in The National
'Double ‘pay penalty’ for working-class women in elite occupations' in Personnel Today
'The performance of merit: hidden barriers to professional success' in The Bridge Group
Politicians continually tell us that anyone can get ahead. But is that really true? This important, best-selling book takes readers behind the closed doors of elite employers to reveal how class affects who gets to the top.
Friedman and Laurison show that a powerful 'class pay gap’ exists in Britain’s elite occupations. Even when those from working-class backgrounds make it into prestigious jobs, they earn, on average, 16% less than colleagues from privileged backgrounds. But why is this the case? Drawing on 175 interviews across four case studies – television, accountancy, architecture, and acting – they explore the complex barriers facing the upwardly mobile.
This is a rich, ambitious book that demands we take seriously not just the glass but also the class ceiling.
Sam Friedman is Professor in Sociology, London School of Economics and a Commissioner at the Social Mobility Commission. He has published widely on social class, social mobility and elites. He is the author of Comedy and Distinction: The Cultural Currency of a ‘Good’ Sense of Humour (Routledge 2014) and the co-author of Social Class in the 21st Century (Penguin, 2015). He tweets as @SamFriedmanSoc
Daniel Laurison is Assistant Professor at Swarthmore College, USA. Previously he was at the London School of Economics and Political Science. He is Associate Editor of the British Journal of Sociology and tweets as @Daniel_Laurison
Introduction
Getting in
Getting on
Untangling the class pay gap
Inside elite firms
The bank of Mum and Dad
A helping hand
Fitting in
View from the top
Self-elimination
Class ceilings: A new approach to social mobility
Conclusion
Epilogue: 10 ways to break the class ceiling