New Progress Together research data published: Performance, not privilege
New Progress Together research data published: Performance, not privilege
New data released by the Bridge Group and Progress Together shows that socio-economic background remains the single strongest predictor of who reaches senior leadership in UK financial services.
The newly released dataset – the largest of its kind globally, spanning over 210,000 employees across 40 firms – reveals entrenched barriers: employees from lower socio-economic backgrounds take 16% longer to progress into senior roles than peers from privileged backgrounds. Senior leadership continues to be dominated by privileged backgrounds, with diverse talent pipelines stalling before the top.
Key highlights from the dataset:
Financial services employees from a lower socio-economic background face nearly two years longer to progress than their peers from privileged backgrounds
In more than half of firms, no senior leaders come from both an ethnic minority and a lower or intermediate socio-economic background.
Men from higher socio-economic backgrounds are 3.4x more likely to reach senior roles than women from lower socio-economic backgrounds.
London, the least socio-economically diverse region, accounts for more than half of senior jobs, blocking talent from other regions.
This year’s report analyses employees’ socio-economic background data from 40 firms. The main indicator is the occupation of the household’s main earner at age 14 - a widely recognised measure of socio-economic background. Some firms also report school type to reflect educational advantage. The report uses medians of firm-level statistics to benchmark against sector and national figures. Now in its third year, the report also tracks progress. Early trends are emerging, but more years of data are needed for robust conclusions.
To download the report: ‘Performance, not privilege - Tackling barriers to senior leadership in UK financial services’ click on the button below.