Two-thirds of Britons say background still affects career success – that should worry every employer

That single finding should trouble any business leader who thinks opportunity in Britain is based purely on talent.

New research for Co-op shows that background – from accent to parental income or the school you went to – still shapes career prospects for millions. Only one in three people think employers genuinely care about social mobility. For a country trying to rebuild growth, that is a serious warning sign.

This isn’t just a question of fairness; it’s about the economy. Earlier analysis with Demos found that low social mobility costs the UK £19 billion a year in lost productivity. When potential is wasted, so is performance.

The challenge isn’t always open discrimination. It’s the quiet habits that reward polish over potential – who feels they “fit”, who gets informal mentoring, who feels confident enough to apply for promotion. Those biases hold people back and hold businesses back too.

At Co-op, we wanted to understand and act. We became the first retailer to publish a socioeconomic pay-gap report, giving us data to see where barriers exist and what needs to change. We’ve used that insight to strengthen mentoring, training and progression routes for colleagues from lower-income backgrounds.

But this can’t be left to a few employers who choose to act. Every organisation needs to measure and publish data on socioeconomic background so that we can see where progress is being made – and where it isn’t.

That’s why Co-op has launched two free resources:

• The Social Mobility Employer Toolkit – practical guidance for organisations to collect data, design fairer recruitment and build progression for all.
• The Employability Toolkit – a free online resource to help people who face barriers to work, from young people to returners and refugees, build confidence and job-ready skills.

We’ve shared them with our seven million members and through partners such as Co-op Academies Trust and Levy Share, which has already created more than 3,800 apprenticeships – two-thirds in the most deprived areas.

If the UK is serious about growth, social mobility must move from the margins of HR policy to the centre of economic strategy. Background should never decide someone’s future.

Talent is everywhere; opportunity is not – and that gap is one our country can no longer afford.

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Claire Costello is the Chief People & Inclusion Officer at Co-op

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