People from low socio-economic backgrounds less likely to climb ‘velvet drainpipe’ to top
The class composition of the senior ranks of the civil service has barely changed since 1967, research reveals, with civil servants from poorer backgrounds less likely to climb the “velvet drainpipe” to the top, and the vast majority of senior roles occupied by people from privileged backgrounds.
Pockets of the civil service are particularly elitist, with just 12% of senior Treasury staff coming from low socio-economic backgrounds. Overall, only 18% of the 6,000-strong cohort of senior civil servants come from disadvantaged backgrounds, while one in four of this group was independently educated, the research reveals.
