Social class and careers

I've been thinking a bit lately about social class and the many and varied benefits that being middle class might have on our career paths.

There's some issues that are fairly obvious. We know that some fields (such as politics, the media and fashion) all but require a significant period of unpaid work experience, and managing this when you have parents who can support you financially is bound to be helpful. We also know how important networks are, and that the notion of 'social capital' is important. The middle classes are much more likely to have access to interesting opportunities for internships and jobs because of their well connected parents. Greenback and Hepworth (2008) conducted a great piece of research a few years ago into the impact that social class has on career decision making styles and had some interesting findings which illustrate the uphill struggle that working class kids face when competing with middle class kids. Working class kids, for example, tend to focus on their degree first, and then start thinking about jobs afterwards. This seems like a very reasonable approach in itself, but at job interviews, these young people are up against the middle class kids who have already may have notched up a number of relevant internships. Those middle class competitors will be able to talk with confidence about the skills needed in the workplace, commercial issues and can prove that they understand the behaviour needed in a professional environment.

But what I've been thinking particularly about is not the fact that being middle class can bring specific benefits (networks, the flexibility associated with money, approaches to employability) but that being middle class is an advantage simply because being middle class is more admired - not that it's associated with any particular qualities or behaviour, but just because it's more desirable to be middle class.

There is plenty of evidence that an attractive appearance is linked with a range of positive employment outcomes - more money, more promotion, more job offers etc. But what is interesting is that the notion of attractiveness, in much of this research, is much broader than basic good looks, including things such as 'tasteful' clothing, 'well applied' make up, and the ability to know how to behave in social settings. Which in many cases boils down simply to looking (or being) more middle class. I don't just mean that middle class people are more able to afford to dress 'well', it's more that society decrees that what we think of as 'tasteful' or 'well' dressed is simply the way that middle class people look.

I've also read something recently about accents (eg Rakic et al. 2011) , and essentially, a middle class accent is more likely to get you a job than a working class one - not because there is anything intrinsically better about it, but simple because it symbolises the middle classes.

Then finally, I've just been reading a really interesting article on the advertising industry (McLeod et al 2009) which essentially suggests that ad agencies favour middle class applicants in part because they are more likely to be fit in and be desirable to clients.

The impact of social class is deep, subtle and insidious. And I don't know what we should do about it. It's a complex issue (far more nuanced than I'm making it seem in this post). But you could argue that it's woven into the fabric of our society (maybe any society?) that being middle class is better than being working class. And whilst we, as a society or as a bunch of practitioners, can work with clients to change some of the issues - encouraging all clients to get involved in work experience early on, teach people how to develop and make the most of their networks, there are many symbols of class which are hard for individuals to change, and which are deeply ingrained in our society. And these confer advantages to the middle classes, simply by signalling that they are middle class.

Greenbank and Hepworth (2008) Working class students and the career decision making process: A qualitative study: Manchester HECSU

McLeod, C., O'Donohoe, S. and Townley, B. (2009)The elephant in the room? Class and creative careers in British advertising agencies  Human Relations 2009 62: 1011

Rakic, T., Steffens, m.C. and Mummendey, A. (2011) When it matters how you promounce it: the interview of regional accents on job interview outcome British Journal of Psychology 102 868 - 883