If you were born to less educated parents, chances are you’ll end up earning less than the sons and daughters of graduates – even if you have the same qualifications as they do, according to new research.
The analysis, carried out by the Institute of Education (IOE), looked at data on 40,000 men from different countries aged between 25 and 59. Of those, 2,011 were from England and Northern Ireland.
Internationally, men born to less educated parents earn 6% less, on average, than the sons of graduates, even if they have the same qualifications, the research found.
In England and Northern Ireland, the difference is much more marked: here the average rises to 20%.
The researchers also analysed data on 2,544 women in England and Northern Ireland and found that the daughters of early school-leavers earn 11% less than the daughters of graduates, even if they have the same qualifications.
John Jerrim, one of the researchers at the Institute of Education, says: “The study illustrates that social mobility and educational inequality tend to be greatest in countries where there are the greatest income gaps between rich and poor.
“As the UK has a relatively high level of income inequality, this may undermine successive government attempts to promote greater social mobility.”
Countries that were found to be more meritocratic included Austria, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. Dr Lindsey Macmillan, another of the researchers, says: “Our analysis indicates that in those countries the labour markets are comparatively meritocratic.
“However, this cannot be said of France, Japan, South Korea, England and Northern Ireland, where the direct effect of parental education is substantial.”
Jerrim says that this could be down to the greater likelihood of going to a more prestigious university in the UK if your parents are highly educated. He says:
“The UK may offer particularly high economic rewards for going to a ‘good’ university, whereas, in other countries, ‘a degree is a degree’. As children from advantaged backgrounds tend to go to more highly-ranked universities in this country, this could help to explain our results.
“It is also reasonable to assume that the sons and daughters of families with greater financial resources may be given more time to find a suitable job than those from less advantaged backgrounds.
Most of the men and women in this study began work before unpaid internships became commonplace. Jerrim says: “It will be interesting to see whether they skew incomes even further in favour of those with graduate parents.”
