Co-op Launches Campaign On Social Mobility To Break ‘Class Ceiling'

The research, carried out by ICM and conducted on behalf of Co-op surveyed over 8,500 people, looking at the experiences, life chances and impact of social mobility on young people and adults across the UK.

Nearly a fifth (17%) of UK adults believe they have missed out on a job due to their background, accent or social status, with a tenth (10%) revealing that they have been teased for their accent. As a result, a quarter (26%) have changed the way they look for a job interview and a tenth (11%) have changed the way they speak at work.

Over two-fifths (41%) of young people believe what they achieve in life is determined by their socio-economic background.

Co-op undertook with Making The Leap, a grassroots social mobility charity, to capture the diversity of views and experiences of Lower Socio-economic Background (LSEB) individuals.

In light of the research, Co-op is introducing a nine-point business plan on social mobility, which includes creating an internal social mobility taskforce to work through the findings of the research and report back to colleagues in June 2024.

Co-op plans to engage with the UK government to ensure ‘socio-economic background’ is a protected characteristic, which should be considered alongside, and seen to be as important as, gender, ethnicity and disability.

ESM