The Class Ceiling: Why It Pays to Be Privileged

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.

Author: Sam Friedman, Daniel Laurison
Publisher: Policy Press
Published: 01/01/2020
Pages: 384
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.90lbs
Size: 8.40h x 5.40w x 1.20d
ISBN13: 9781447336105
ISBN10: 1447336100
BISAC Categories:
- Social Science | Social Classes & Economic Disparity
- Social Science | Sociology | General
- Political Science | Labor & Industrial Relations

About the Author
Sam Friedman is Associate 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