The Brokerage Changemaker Brochure - Flipbook - Page 4
Our Changemaker Services
We know the young people we work with are talented, ambitious and hard working and possess
many of the skills that have been identified by employers as crucial for future business success. We
recently commissioned a report, The Overlooked Advantage, to unpack the attributes that our
Candidates (working class young people, many of whom are also from ethnically minoritised
backgrounds) have and six key strengths stood out: readiness to learn, emotional and cultural
intelligence, desire for excellence, creativity and resilience.
However, despite these skills all being highly desired by employers, something is holding them and
young people from similar underrepresented backgrounds, back from matching the success of their
more economically privileged and White peers in professional industries:
More privileged individuals are currently 60% more likely to be in professional roles than those
from lower or working class socio-economic backgrounds. [1]
Only 20% of people working in industries such as law, management consultancy or financial
management come from working class backgrounds. [2]
Research released in 2021 found that only ten of 297 (3.4%) leaders in the Top 3 roles at FTSE 100
companies had ethnic minority backgrounds. [3)
As well as access to professional jobs, working class people experience a class pay gap. On
average this pay gap is about £6000 per year and where class intersects with gender and
ethnicity, the disparities compound with respective pay gaps multiplying together, so that a
working-class Black woman might earn even less than the combined pay gaps experienced by a
working class White woman or a Black woman whose parents had better paid jobs. [4)
Historically, we, and social mobility charities like us, have focused
encouraging them to ‘fit in’ with corporate norms. However, as
employers that need to adjust their approach; many businesses are
most talented candidates due to outdated recruitment practices
mindsets.
on supporting young people,
our research identified, it’s
inadvertently overlooking the
and internal processes and
This is where our Changemaker services come in - and what sets us apart from other diversity and
inclusion or learning and development consultants in this space is that our work is driven by our
young people. We can help you overcome the institutional barriers that are holding your orgaisation
back by ensuring that the perspective of talented working class and ethnically minoritised young
people (the very young people you want to attract and retain) is understood and considered as part of
any effort to make your organisation more inclusive. We believe that youth voice is vital which is why,
either via insights gathered from our 25 year history, or by their direct involvement or perspective,
young people are integral in each of the services we have developed to support your organisation.
[1] Social Mobility Commission (2021). State of the Nation 2021.
[2] Friedman, S, Laurison D, Macmillan, L, (2017). Social Mobility, the Class Pay Gap and Intergenerational Worklessness.
[3] Green Park (2021) Business Leaders Index 2021.
[4] Freidman, S, Laurison, D (2019). The Class Ceiling.
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