Inequality and silver linings: early learning from the pandemic
Inequality and silver linings: early learning from the pandemic
The global pandemic continues to affect everyone in significant, swift and unpredicted ways. Amid the latest announcements from Number 10, we are sharing an experience that is proving to be both unifying and dividing - along social, racial and economic lines.
Secondary effects
Health and wellbeing are the immediate priority, but we also know that COVID-19 is already having significant secondary effects on the economy and on education; and that these are likely to deepen social inequalities in the UK and around the world. At the Bridge Group, we are exploring these effects on education and the labour market; and considering carefully how we can collaborate to mitigate them.
Deepening educational inequalities
For example, we know that young people’s differential experiences of home education and access to technology are likely to impact on educational outcomes. Independent schools are currently almost twice as likely to be teaching A-Level content compared to state schools; and online private tuition is much more available to young people from higher socio-economic backgrounds.
Almost half of university applicants feel that the effects of COVID-19 will damage their chances of getting into their first-choice university, with students from lower socio-economic backgrounds expected to be more adversely impacted. The Office for Students has been relatively quick to support institutions, but there has been some scepticism within the sector about the lack of any additional funds.
The wider economy
In the wider economy, job losses are already impacting families, students and graduates’ prospects in different ways. This dramatic re-shaping of the labour market (including access to work experience and internships), and its differential effects on society, needs to be closely monitored and carefully understood.
Silver linings in the labour market
Where their occupation allows for it, people’s experiences of working from home are shaped hourly by circumstances and physical environment. In some workforces, this new mode of working appears to have had a democratising effect – ‘everyone is in the same situation’ and deeper relationships develop as conversations are punctuated by brief glimpses into each other’s home lives.
However, we have also heard in our recent research from those who feel that this sudden shift has put additional pressure on ‘bringing your whole self to work’ - in a way that can feel uncomfortable if home life (as depicted online) doesn’t conform to the dominant model. Some are reporting that employers are expecting the same level of output, despite many people’s new teaching and caring responsibilities.
Everyone is not in the same situation. Even so, what must surely emerge is a greater understanding amongst employers of the advantages, and how to address some of the challenges, of remote working. This should have positive outcomes: employers may be more inclined to offer flexible work arrangements, therefore broadening their talent base across geographies (likely to be especially positive on socio-economic diversity for those employers with a single footprint in London) and for those with caring responsibilities.
We have heard too that the subject of mental wellbeing is being more openly discussed at this time; and that the current pause on social interactions that can be exclusionary (think after-work bonding at the pub, or debating client allocation on the golf course) is contributing to a virtual working environment that can, almost paradoxically, feel more inclusive.
Across our ongoing research, we are exploring the extent to which dynamics that affect social equality in the workplace, identified in our earlier studies, may have less bearing at this time. For example: ‘confidence’ and ‘gravitas’ being valued over competence; the cumulative effect of micro-aggressions; and unequal access to senior sponsorship.
Carrying our learning forward
As the current restrictions are gradually lifted, many workforces will be reunited in a staggered way – depending on factors including health, occupational area, and circumstances such as caring responsibilities. It will be important then for organisations to carry forward more inclusive environments, as the democratising effect of everyone working at home becomes fragmented. Consider for example that there is likely to be an extended period of social isolation for those over seventy years old; and that Black and minority ethnic people of this age are generally much more likely to live with younger people, compared to those from a White ethnic background.
The pandemic has created an environment of increased uncertainty and competition for most organisations; and a need to make decisions much more quickly. Based on our previous research, we might expect individuals and organisations to be more risk averse in this environment – with a negative overall impact on diversity, as managers reach for familiarity in decisions about roles, recruitment and work allocation.
But it doesn’t have to be like that. Leaders are urged to take a progressive approach and establish, nurture and sustain more inclusive practices. This is a vital moment. Ensuring diversity of perspective and enabling the whole workforce to excel has never been more important. Leaders will be judged (by employees and prospective hires) on their actions at this time for years to come.
What the Bridge Group is doing
We are hopeful that many silver linings will emerge from this time. For this to happen, we must make time to reflect on what we are learning, and how this evidence can help inform better policy and practice as we emerge from this initial period of adjustment.
The Bridge Group team are busy across sectors exploring these matters and the practical action that can be taken. In higher education, for example, we are adjusting our extensive evaluation of ST programmes to assess the impact of moving outreach online; and considering (in research commissioned from the UPP Foundation) how the current environment will impact on how commuter students. My colleague, Dr Penelope Griffin, reflects on how universities can approach admissions to mitigate negative impacts on social equality in her latest blog here.
In our research across workforces, we are exploring how the pandemic is affecting working practices and inclusion - including in real estate (sponsored by the JLL Foundation), financial services (in partnership with the City of London) and in the law sector (working with nine large city law firms exploring who makes partner, and how).
In the arts, we are collaborating with Inc Arts to deliver the most ambitious survey on diversity and inclusion in the sector to date – building on the toolkit that we published with Jerwood Arts last year. We are refreshing this toolkit’s advice and practical recommendations in the context of COVID-19, and applying this same process to the wider Employer Toolkit that we published with the Social Mobility Commission earlier this year. These revisions will be the subject of a separate blog and webinar, considering our most recent findings.
All of the team at the Bridge Group wish you well at this time, and we look forward to learning from your experiences. Stay connected to our blog to hear further insights from the team and our Fellows, and to join the debate.
Chief Executive of the Bridge Group.