The 93% Club announces the launch of 93% Professionals

Written By Fin Wright

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: BCG, EY, JLL, and Slaughter and May, join forces with The 93% Club to launch a new professional network to improve outcomes for state educated people in the workplace. 

London, UK - The 93% Club, a leading social impact organisation dedicated to improving outcomes for state educated people has announced a transformative new professional network designed to address a critical gap in the journey from education to a successful career. 

For years, the social mobility conversation has been dominated by discussions on competence and qualifications and overlooked a pivotal factor that drives positive outcomes for people in the workplace: the network effect. 

For state-educated people, entering professional spaces often means navigating unfamiliar cultural codes and facing the challenge of building networks in elite professions. Research from Sam Friedman* reveals that sponsorship relationships crucial for career advancement are frequently built on cultural affinity rather than performance. This inadvertently creates barriers for state-educated individuals. 

The 93% Club recognises the need to address these barriers for state educated people. Working with our founding corporate members - BCG, EY, JLL and Slaughter and May, the Club has launched 93 Professionals - a professional network connecting state-educated people across the UK. 

This new network will provide a supportive community for state educated people as they enter and progress in the professional world. Using a pay-it-forward model, members can invest in their professional growth and provide opportunities for future state educated talent. The network will operate both online and in-person to facilitate the active networking and mentorship required to accelerate the progression and deliver professional success for state educated people. 

Founder and CEO, Sophie Pender said: "It’s time to transform what it means to be state educated in the workplace. As we continue our mission to empower state-educated people, we recognise the need to address the challenges they face once they enter their careers.  93% Professionals address these challenges through the power of community.”

Jess Frame, Managing Director & Partner and Head of BCG’s London Office, said: “At BCG, we firmly believe that diversity of backgrounds and experiences brings richer thinking to our teams and greater value to our clients and to society at large. We are delighted to join the 93% Club as a Founding Member of its Professional Network. Sophie and her team have done a tremendous job of bringing social mobility into the spotlight and we very much look forward to supporting them in the vital work that they are doing to level the playing field.”

Christopher Woolard CBE, Partner, EY said: “We passionately believe that an individual’s starting point in life should not determine their destination and in ensuring all talent has the opportunity to access and achieve a fabulous career. We’re proud that in 2014 EY made a long-term commitment to tackling social mobility by establishing the EY Foundation, an independent charity that directly supports young people from low-income backgrounds through employability skills training and paid work experience. For us, a strong community of people who understood, could provide mutual encouragement and support, is a key enabler of success.”

Anne-Lyse Raoul, Head of DEI – EMEA said: “We’re proud to be joining the 93% club and hosting the launch event, raising the agenda and profile of social mobility. Social mobility is a crucial aspect of equity, ensuring that everyone has a chance to succeed in life, irrespective of factors beyond their control. We are committed to moving the dial, not only for talent attraction but retention too, and supporting professionals from state-school backgrounds to accelerate their careers.”

Andrew Jolly, Partner, Slaughter and May said: “We are delighted to be a founding member of 93% Professionals, as we continue to drive forward our commitment to reduce inequalities in the legal sector and ensure that everyone, no matter their background, has the opportunity to achieve their full potential.”

ENDS

*Sam Friedman (2019): The Class Ceiling (Bristol: Bristol University Press)

For media inquiries, please contact:

Finley Wright 

Director of Communications, Marketing and Brand 

fin.wright@93percent.club

About The 93% Club:

The 93% Club is a members’ club for people who went to state schools. Our mission is to empower state educated people to realise their ambitions by leveraging the power of community. We’ve taken the centuries-old concept of exclusive and elusive old boys' networks and created an alternative: the UK’s least exclusive members’ club – redistributing influence and opportunities back into the hands of the 93%. 

Learn more at www.93percent.club 

Appendix

Supplementary data: 

Elitist Britain revealed the dominance of privately educated people in the UK’s top professions.

  • Senior judges - 65% 

  • The Cabinet - 65%

  • Doctors - 61% 

  • Bankers - 60%

  • Permanent secretaries - 59%

  • Peers - 57%

  • Diplomats - 52%

  • Columnists - 44%

  • Actors - 44%

  • Editors and broadcasters - 43%

  • MPs - 29%

  • (% = percentage of privately educated people by profession)

Fin Wright