Policy Press

The Class Ceiling

Why it Pays to be Privileged

By Sam Friedman and Daniel Laurison

Published

Jan 6, 2020

Page count

384 pages

ISBN

978-1447336105

Dimensions

216 x 138 mm

Imprint

Policy Press

Published

Jan 28, 2019

Page count

384 pages

ISBN

978-1447336068

Dimensions

216 x 138 mm

Imprint

Policy Press

Published

Jan 28, 2019

Page count

384 pages

ISBN

978-1447336082

Dimensions

Imprint

Policy Press

Published

Jan 28, 2019

Page count

384 pages

ISBN

978-1447336099

Dimensions

Imprint

Policy Press
The Class Ceiling

Politicians continually tell us that anyone can get ahead. But is that really true? This important, best-selling book takes readers behind the closed doors of elite employers to reveal how class affects who gets to the top.

Friedman and Laurison show that a powerful 'class pay gap’ exists in Britain’s elite occupations. Even when those from working-class backgrounds make it into prestigious jobs, they earn, on average, 16% less than colleagues from privileged backgrounds. But why is this the case? Drawing on 175 interviews across four case studies – television, accountancy, architecture, and acting – they explore the complex barriers facing the upwardly mobile.

This is a rich, ambitious book that demands we take seriously not just the glass but also the class ceiling.

Sam Friedman is Professor in Sociology, London School of Economics and a Commissioner at the Social Mobility Commission. He has published widely on social class, social mobility and elites. He is the author of Comedy and Distinction: The Cultural Currency of a ‘Good’ Sense of Humour (Routledge 2014) and the co-author of Social Class in the 21st Century (Penguin, 2015). He tweets as @SamFriedmanSoc

Daniel Laurison is Assistant Professor at Swarthmore College, USA. Previously he was at the London School of Economics and Political Science. He is Associate Editor of the British Journal of Sociology and tweets as @Daniel_Laurison

Introduction

Getting in

Getting on

Untangling the class pay gap

Inside elite firms

The bank of Mum and Dad

A helping hand

Fitting in

View from the top

Self-elimination

Class ceilings: A new approach to social mobility

Conclusion

Epilogue: 10 ways to break the class ceiling