Reveals the class markers that operate within the world’s most powerful firms and outlines the practical steps for leading employers to dismantle class barriers.
Class, so the narrative goes, has been banished to the past in our modern meritocratic world. Yet across the world’s major economies, entry to the elite remains governed by a set of unwritten and largely invisible workplace class codes: rules encompassing ways of speaking and social etiquette, hidden cultural norms, and the confidence to advocate for yourself in highly competitive environments — codes passed down through generations.
In this groundbreaking global study, Lee Elliot Major and Anne-Marie Sim lay bare the class markers that operate within the world’s most powerful firms, revealing how they connect to a wider class system structured around a small, detached elite and everyone else. They outline ten practical steps for leading employers to dismantle class barriers and make the urgent case for a fairer system in which everyone has a genuine chance to lead a decent life, whatever path they choose.
Table of Contents:
Introduction
Chapter 1 – Cracking the class code
Part I: Class
Chapter 2 - The death (and rebirth) of class
Chapter 3 - The detached elite
PART II: Elite powerhouses
Chapter 4 - Elite reproduction machines
Chapter 5 – Powerhouses of the global meritocracy
Chapter 6 – Firm divides
PART III: Class codes
Chapter 7 – How you look (appearance codes)
Chapter 8 - How you speak (linguistic codes)
Chapter 9 – How you play (leisure codes)
Chapter 10 – How you act (navigational codes)
PART IV: The way ahead
Chapter 11 – Resetting the rules
Chapter 12 – The road to renewal
About the Author :
Lee Elliot Major is Britain’s first Professor of Social Mobility, based at the University of Exeter. He was previously Chief Executive of the Sutton Trust, the UK’s leading social mobility foundation. A leading voice in national and international education debates, he advises corporate, government and education leaders across the globe. His award-winning books include Equity in Education and Social Mobility and Its Enemies. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences and was awarded an OBE in the 2019 Queen’s Honours.
Anne-Marie Sim is co-founder and lead of the South-West Social Mobility Commission at the University of Exeter. She was previously a strategy consultant with the Boston Consulting Group, where she worked with leading UK and global companies. She holds a DPhil and Masters in anthropology and Bachelors in Economics and Management from the University of Oxford.
Review :
"Anyone interested in that slippery old beast, social mobility – or indeed its stubborn ally, poverty – has to read this book. It is an indispensable guide on how we can finally meet one of the great missions of our age – and, alas, every age."
Amol Rajan, journalist and broadcaster
"You probably suspected that class wasn’t really dead, but this remarkable, well-researched book brings it roaring back as a live economic, social and political category. The authors introduce us to a new taxonomy of class that applies universally, trace its roots so this new reality is incontestable together with the despondencies class generates – and propose a radical programme of public policy and private action to challenge it. A foundational book for our troubled times "
Will Hutton, President of the Academy of Social Sciences
"A compelling, cross-national perspective on elite reproduction, which illuminates global inequalities and identifies pathways for change."
Lauren Rivera, Kellogg School of Management
“A forensic diagnosis of the hidden class codes holding back talent – and a genuinely actionable blueprint for firms to unlock it.”
Ian Walsh, former Senior Partner at BCG and Chair of the Sutton Trust
“This book powerfully exposes systemic barriers to professional access, challenging meritocracy myths while offering globally relevant, evidence-based insights. Essential reading for anyone committed to advancing social mobility.”
Sarah Atkinson, The Social Mobility Foundation
