Event Summary

Social mobility is improving, yet recent research from the Social Mobility Commission reports that family background is still a strong predictor of career outcomes.*

The pressure on employers to act is growing. Professionals from working-class backgrounds are paid 12% less per year than colleagues doing the same job and are more likely to stall before reaching senior leadership**. With campaigns to bring in mandatory socio-economic pay gap reporting and the Social Mobility Employer Index moving to a new banded structure in 2026, demonstrating progress is no longer optional.

Attend Westminster Insight’s Social Mobility in the Workplace Conference to hear the latest examples of good practice from employers that are successfully creating equitable opportunities for people from less advantaged socioeconomic backgrounds (SEBs).

The business case for boosting social mobility is clear. Access to a wider talent pool of capable candidates and better retention of employees, cutting recruitment and training costs. A workforce that reflects the diversity of the local community also has a greater understanding of the people they serve.

Whether you are building a social mobility programme from scratch or stress-testing an existing one, join us to benchmark your progress and take away practical tools and strategies to strengthen your organisation’s approach.

Sessions will cover the current issues facing employers including developing inclusive recruitment practices, how to close the progression gap, collecting and tracking data, the impact of AI and how to deliver long-term organisational change. Hear from employers leading the field on the Social Mobility Employer Index, with award-winning case studies and expert panel sessions covering what actually works.

This conference will bring together HR directors, diversity and inclusion leads, talent acquisition and early careers professionals, and senior leaders from across the public and private sectors. Join us to connect with like minded professionals committed to building fairer, more inclusive workplaces.

*State of the Nation 2025: The evolving story of social mobility in the UK, Social Mobility Commission
** The Class Pay Gap, Social Mobility Foundation 2023

Key Points

  • National Progress and Focus Areas for Employers: latest data and insights from the Social Mobility Commission
  • Pay Gap Reporting: building the infrastructure to measure ethnicity, disability and class pay gaps
  • Incorporating Social Mobility into your DEI Strategy: how to ensure internal policies work for workers from lower socioeconomic backgrounds
  • The Social Mobility Employer Index: what the move to performance bands means for your organisation and what ‘good’ looks like under the new structure
  • Data-Driven Action: collecting and using socioeconomic background data to measure disparities and inform targeted progression programmes
  • Inclusive Recruitment: removing bias through contextual recruitment, blind screening, structured interviewing and assessor training
  • Tackling the Progression Gap: identifying structural barriers to promotion and building mentoring programmes that work
  • Intersectionality: Understanding how socioeconomic background intersects with other diversity characteristics
  • Making Employer-Education Partnerships Work in Practice: building lasting partnerships with schools, colleges and training providers
  • Non-Traditional Routes into Work: Early talent programmes, pre-employment training, employer-led alternative pathways
  • Impact of AI Transformation: what employers can do to ensure the benefits of AI reach workers from all backgrounds
  • Creating a Shared Vision: moving from one-off initiatives to lasting organisational change.

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Group discounts

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