Cracking the class code

Is class truly in the past, or do invisible workplace codes still govern who gets a place in elite workplaces? 

In this Transforming Business episode, Martin Parker speaks with Lee Elliot Major and Anne-Marie Sim, authors of ‘Cracking the Class Code’, about how leading employers can dismantle these class barriers. 

They discuss the hidden codes passed down through generations, why it matters for both people and businesses that talent is assessed beyond these codes, and how we can build a fairer system in which everyone has a genuine chance to lead a decent life.

Lee Elliot Major is Britain’s first Professor of Social Mobility, based at the University of Exeter. Anne-Marie Sim is co-founder and lead of the South-West Social Mobility Commission at the University of Exeter.

Find out more about the book at: https://policy.bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/trade/cracking-the-class-code

The transcript is available here: https://www.transformingsociety.co.uk/2026/08/25/podcast-cracking-the-class-code/

Timestamps:

01:16 - Why do you care about social class at the present moment?

04:27 - Has social mobility stalled in some way?

10:49 - What do you mean by 'class code'?

16:04 - Isn't judgement in organisations inevitable?

20:01 - How do gender, ethnicity and social class intersect? 

23:05 - What should firms be doing in order not to be discriminating on the basis of social class?

28:03 - How does tax come into this equation?

31:09 - Are these steps necessary in our current 'meritocracy'?

Intro music:

Cold by yoitrax | @yoitrax

Music promoted by www.free-stock-music.com 

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