The Paula Principle

Social Mobility Commission

Social mobility

Some familiar issues but also some progress over the last decade - these are the headlines from a useful new report by the Resolution Foundation for the Social Mobility Commission. The report looks at low pay over the last decade and beyond, dividing people into 3 main groups: the stuck (who have stayed throughout in low pay, i.e. below 2/3 of the median wage); cyclers, who have moved in and out of low pay;  and escapers, who have moved out of low pay and stayed there for at least the last 3 years. Stuck is obviously where you don't want to be.  The good news is that the proportion of…
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Social mobility, occupational maturity and an early pay gap

The Social Mobility Commission's report on the influence of social class on professional progression deservedly got wide coverage.   It moves the debate along from looking only at entry into different professions, to show how people from different social origins do or do not make progress and are or are not rewarded once they have been working for a while.  The analysis shows that those who come themselves from the lower social classes earn on average £6800 less - 17% - than their peers who themselves originate from the professional classes. The class gap is bigger for men than for women.  But the report points out that there is a double…
Read More

Social mobility

Some familiar issues but also some progress over the last decade - these are the headlines from a useful new report by the Resolution Foundation for the Social Mobility Commission. The report looks at low pay over the last decade and beyond, dividing people into 3 main groups: the stuck (who have stayed throughout in low pay, i.e. below 2/3 of the median wage); cyclers, who have moved in and out of low pay;  and escapers, who have moved out of low pay and stayed there for at least the last 3 years. Stuck is obviously where you don't want to be.  The good news is that the proportion of…
Read More

Social mobility, occupational maturity and an early pay gap

The Social Mobility Commission's report on the influence of social class on professional progression deservedly got wide coverage.   It moves the debate along from looking only at entry into different professions, to show how people from different social origins do or do not make progress and are or are not rewarded once they have been working for a while.  The analysis shows that those who come themselves from the lower social classes earn on average £6800 less - 17% - than their peers who themselves originate from the professional classes. The class gap is bigger for men than for women.  But the report points out that there is a double…
Read More