As if life were a board game, my dice were rolled and I was born into a family living on the Old Kent Road, South London. The cheapest place on the Monopoly board and one of the most deprived and diverse areas of the country. It was also the dividing line between the mostly white working-class housing estates of Bermondsey (one of which I grew up on) and the largely ethnic housing estates of Walworth / Peckham.
My experience growing up can be summarised as fun, slightly precarious and in it together. The last part touches on the fact that everyone in my neighbourhood was from a low-income background and bonded over the shared struggle of providing the basic needs for their families.
None of my friends owned their home, had a programme of extra-curricular activities, went on regular holidays, played instruments, had tutors, sat at dinner tables etc. I didn’t have a single middle-class friend growing up.
None of the families had the freedom to choose where they wanted to live or which schools to send their children. We mostly relied on free public services, including parks, youth clubs and libraries. The community came together when needed to help each other out, pooling resources and supporting each other – because we were all in it together. I miss living in a community like this.
This type of upbringing does not prepare the very few who become first-generation professionals, especially into elite occupations. The skills gained in the football cages of South London don’t translate over to board room presentations. The confidence to defend yourself physically when needed doesn’t help with small-p office politics. The local dialect you’re used to heavily relies on words which don’t feature in the average office.
What does prepare you is joining a Russell Group university at aged 18, to experience living with young people from white middle-class backgrounds. So, after achieving straight A’s at A-level, I packed my bags and headed to Bristol University to study Economics.
During my time there, I learned just as much about social science from my surroundings than the course itself. I learnt what Eton was, that some people’s parents had spend upwards of £200k on their education alone and that the struggles I’d seen growing up don’t exist in certain parts of society. People were focused on flourishing rather than surviving – it was eye opening.
Why I did well
I was a high achiever in school because many of the boxes that predict attainment were ticked for me – parents who focused on education and helped me with school work, enough resources from my parents and public services combined (including libraries, schools, youth clubs), good schools etc.
I’ve done relatively well in my life and career so far because a lot of the boxes that predict success in these aspects were also ticked – living in London, having family support (including the bank of sister at times), having an employer who invested in my professional development, being intelligent etc.
I didn’t get to where I am because I am special in any way, but because I was given enough resources, support and opportunity to achieve a decent amount (up to this point). If I had more, I would be further. If I had less, my life would be very different from what it is today.
Why social mobility matters
There are many young people, more talented than me, that will not go on to achieve as much as I have. Not due to their work ethic or choices, but due to the lack of resources, support and opportunities they’ve had access to. I find this morally unjust and economically inefficient.
The lived experience of raising children with more resources and opportunities than I had brought this to life for me in way no report or textbook ever could. I want all children and young people to have the same opportunities that they will have.
This is why I am so driven to support first-generation professionals to enter and progress within top organisations. Given what I’ve seen and experienced on my journey, I don’t know why people are surprised that some people face unique challenges.
It all culminates into two points:
1. Some people’s journeys, backed by a significant amount of prior investment and opportunities over their lifetime, push their achievement to the boundary of their potential. Others haven’t had this investment and opportunity and so there remains a question mark over what their potential truly is.
2. Some journeys are perfectly aligned to life in a middle-class office environment. For others, such as mine, you need to learn the ropes from scratch.
Employers need to recognise that individuals have different journeys and that some people will take time to acclimatise to a world which is very different to the one they grew up in.
If you want to see high performance you need to invest in a variety of ways in those that haven’t had the opportunity to develop certain skills. You need to push their performance to the boundary of their potential.
Only then can you say there has been effort to level the playing field and reap the rewards.