23 April Lady Mayoress tells us why the Bavarian Ball is The City’s hottest summer event
14 June
Power of Inclusion Manager Imogen says #SpeakMore this Social Mobility Day
The Lord Mayor's Appeal's Power of Inclusion Programme Manager Imogen Chaillet tells us why we should #speakmore to mark Social Mobility Day...
Tomorrow, 15 June, is the second annual Social Mobility Day. The day is about ‘actively raising awareness and understanding of social mobility in the UK, and encouraging action that brings about positive change’. The theme this year is #SpeakMore, encouraging individuals to share their stories and organisations to share what they are doing to address social mobility.
At The Lord Mayor’s Appeal, we want to create a city where everyone feels they belong. London is one of the most diverse cities in the world, yet many people face significant barriers to getting a job, progressing their careers or even feeling like they belong within their workplace. Our Power of Inclusion initiative seeks to address this issue and from 2022-24 is focusing on social mobility.
We are tackling social mobility because we know there remains a glaring class pay gap in the City where ‘professionals from working-class backgrounds earn £6,718 less on average, while women and most ethnic minorities face a double disadvantage’ (The Social Mobility Foundation). Additionally, the City of London Corporation reports that employees from lower socio-economic backgrounds progress 25% slower than peers. Those from lower socio-economic backgrounds face significant barriers in their careers, which are amplified by protected characteristics such as ethnicity, gender and disability.
Through the Power of Inclusion, we hope to bring organisations together to collaborate, address these issues and break down barriers to inclusion. We ask organisations to sign up to our Change Starts Together framework, five principles to support businesses to take an intersectional approach in addressing social mobility, which you can explore on our Power of Inclusion Hub. Participating organisations receive access to support and tools to address social mobility and help develop storytelling within their organisations as a way to create an inclusive culture. Representatives from participating organisations are also able to attend our 2022-24 Social Mobility Workshop Series.
We believe that it is important to #SpeakMore about social mobility and hear from people who are impacted by the issues and barriers in social mobility. Film is a compelling tool for storytelling, conveying the message in a way that is engaging, and can connect with people in a more evocative way. Our Change Starts Together film highlights the stories of several individuals working in the City. This Social Mobility Day, we want to emphasise the importance of sharing your individual stories and what your organisation is doing in the space. We would love to see more organisations take on the challenge of creating their own Change Starts Together video, allowing colleagues to share their stories and see their own stories reflected in their peers and senior leaders.
Get involved:
- Sign up to our Power of Inclusion Hub to access social mobility focused resources and be the first to hear about the next workshop in our Social Mobility Series
- Create your own Change Starts Together video
If you’re interested in creating a Change Starts Together video, send us an email and we can support you: inclusion@thelordmayorsappeal.org
