Skip to content
City PM
  • Germany
  • France
  • Europe
  • Markets
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • DE
  • Germany
  • France
  • Europe
  • Markets
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • DE
Wednesday 24 February 2016 9:59 am

Business is the most accessible high powered professionion with fewer privately educated leaders than politics, law, the civil service and medicine

By: Lynsey Barber

Add as a preferred source on Google

It's easier to rise to the pinnacle of your career in business than in any other profession.

The top ranks of business are filled by the fewest privately educated people among 10 of the country's most high profile professions.

Just over a third of the business elite were educated at private school, compared to more than half of those in politics, law, medicine and the military, new research reveals.

It's the second significant drop in the number of business leaders coming from public schools over the last 30 years.

The figure stood at 70 per cent in 1987 and 54 per cent in 2007, based on FTSE 100 company bosses educated in the UK, according to the Sutton Trust which analysed the numbers,

The number who attended Oxbridge has also fallen, from 39 per cent in 2007 to 31 per cent in 2015.

However, it does identify that a greater number of business leaders are not included in the figures because they were educated abroad, partly contributing to the lower figure.

And while educational background is making business more equal than other professions, there's still some way to go when it comes gender equality, the report notes. Progress has been made with the Davies Review getting more women into top positions and new targets for FTSE 350 gender diversity should continue that.

Share this article

  • Facebook
  • X
  • LinkedIn
  • WhatsApp
  • Email

Similarly tagged content:

Sections

  • News

Categories

  • Business

Trending Articles

  • Exclusive: Big Four giant KPMG to cut more jobs

  • Music tycoon Simon Cowell sued by prominent City lawyer

  • The former African gold miner taking on the billionaire Issa brothers

  • Easyjet agrees to £5.7bn Apollo takeover

  • Tesco ‘in talks’ to exit eastern Europe

More from City PM

  • If performance matters more than privilege then prove it

    Opinion
    Octopus Investments has appointed a new CEO
  • Why Hugh Grant is the last person Burnham should listen to on press freedom

    Opinion
    Hugh Grant expressing frustration, advocating for press regulation, amidst concerns over free speech and Downing Street po...
  • Andy Burnham: being all things to all men will end up letting everyone down

    Opinion
    Andy Burnham speaking at a Labour Party event, addressing current political issues, with a focused and determined expression.
  • Why English literature graduates shouldn’t be Prime Minister

    Opinion
  • Andy Burnham will crumble like a biscuit he can’t even name

    Opinion
    Burnham 1 showcases a bustling cityscape highlighting economic growth and urban development in the region.
  • Two-tier taxes are not the way to get Britain back to work

    Opinion
    Robert Jenrick speaking at a press conference, addressing current policy issues, wearing a suit and standing behind a podium
  • Starmer insists he will challenge Burnham in a leadership contest

    Politics
    Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks at a press conference addressing future leadership rumours, wearing a navy suit and tie.
  • Is the jobs market driving graduates to spy for China?

    Opinion
    LinkedIn interface displaying profiles linked to Chinese espionage investigation, highlighting cyber security threats.

City PM — European politics, business and analysis.

Europe

  • Germany
  • France
  • Europe
  • UK & Ireland

Topics

  • Business
  • Markets
  • AI
  • Technology
  • Opinion
  • Energy

More

  • Politics
  • Economics
  • Fintech
  • Legal
  • Sport
  • Life

Company

  • About City PM
  • Editorial Policy
  • Corrections
  • Contact
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
© 2026 City PM · Published by CityPM Media, Bahnhofstrasse 65, 8001 Zürich, Switzerland
About · Editorial Policy · Corrections · Contact · Privacy · Facebook