ED&I Socio-Economic Report

Published date: 8 May 2024

The ED&I Strategy Report highlights the key trends, issues, best practice case studies and strategic advice for companies on how to improve their approach to equality, diversity & inclusion.

Partnering with Censuswide, Walters People and Resource Solutions, we will be releasing separate chapters to provide specific strategic advice on the key topics surrounding ED&I.

A focus on socio-economic equality

Robert Walters has gathered insights from professionals in the UK and Ireland, looking at disparities relating to diversity and inclusion.

What's inside...

Key findings drawn from a survey completed by +6,000 professionals, helping us understand the state of play of ED&I across UK and Irish workplaces
The career challenges and workplace experiences of professionals through the lens of socio-economic status
Actionable insight to address ED&I challenges, delivered by The Early Careers Foundation

Key Findings

51% of working class female professionals were either living pay cheque-to-pay cheque or relying on additional support/streams of income
52% of upper-middle class professionals agreed that their academic history directly impacted their career success
A third of skilled-working class men felt balancing work and personal commitments is a key barrier to progression
Only 1% of lower-middle class professionals were earning above £75,000 annually - compared to 24% of upper-middle class professionals

About the report partner

The Early Careers Foundation

The Early Careers Foundation is a social mobility charity aimed at breaking the cycle of socio-economic inequality by helping young people from low-income backgrounds access great first careers.

By working with School Partners right across the country, the Foundation bridges the gap between businesses that are committed to engendering social mobility, and educational institutions that may not have connections or time to support their students’ career readiness.

Their Mentoring Programme provides structured employability guidance to thousands of talented young people across the UK by pairing them up with employees of the Foundation’s Corporate Partners. Robert Walters Group is proudly partnered with ECF, with our volunteers acting as dedicated mentors to the Foundation’s beneficiaries. They are matched with a young person on the programme, providing structured mentoring sessions once a month, during the student’s final two years of school – preparing them for a fulfilling first role.

Working with The Early Careers Foundation is entirely free to Corporate and School Partners alike, being fully funded by The Ladder Group. If you’d like to get involved with ECF – from hosting Industry Insight Days to offering mentoring opportunities to your employees, to fundraising for The Early Careers Fund – please get in touch via hello@earlycareersfoundation.org

Find out more