Just 44% of class-marginalised employees got career development offers
A "class ceiling" that disproportionately affects those marginalised by their social class is having a damaging impact on career advancement, according to the Diversity Council of Australia (DCA).
Initial findings from the council's Class Inclusion at Work report highlight a stark disparity: only 44% of class-marginalised employees were offered career development opportunities in the past year, compared to 76% of employees considered privileged by their social class.
The report further underscores this divide at the leadership level, where just four per cent of leaders identified as class-marginalised, while 40% reported experiencing class privilege.
The DCA's Class Inclusion at Work report comes five years after its 2020 report, which defined social class as someone's social standing based on a range of factors, including wealth, income, education, and occupation.
"All these factors combine to create a person's status, power and/or position – that is, their social standing or social class," the 2020 report read.
The report found that lower-class employees were more likely to experience exclusion at work, and were less likely to get opportunities and privileges, compared to middle- and higher-class workers.
This year's findings underscore that similar divisions persist in the workplace, where only 22% of class-marginalised workers feel valued and respected at work.
On the other hand, 41% of class-privileged workers feel valued and respected.
Despite the persisting gap, the report found that just 24% of leaders recognise that social class makes a difference in Australia.
"Five years on from DCA’s groundbreaking 2020 Class at Work report, these new findings prove that social class remains one of the most powerful, yet least acknowledged, barriers to inclusion at work," said Catherine Hunter, CEO of DCA, in a statement.
The 2025 Class Inclusion at Work report is set for an October release. A panel of experts will be discussing social class at work in an upcoming panel on August 22.
"This discussion will set the stage for an important conversation on why class matters at work, and why we must begin dismantling the systemic barriers that continue to hold people back," Hunter said.
