Fair access to the professions

What is Fair Access to the professions?

The gender pay gap has narrowed, but the top professional jobs still go to men. The professions seem to have become more socially exclusive, not less:

3 in 4 judges and 1 in 2 senior civil servants are still privately educated.
Today's doctors and lawyers grew up in families with incomes two-thirds higher than the average family.
Those from other diversity groups are often under-represented in the professions.

This section provides information on initiatives by the professional bodies, the professions, higher education institutes and other organisations to ensure that professional careers are open to people of talent regardless of background. Professional bodies and the professions have made great efforts to expand the pool from which they recruit.

The role of professional bodies is central to enabling people from under-represented groups to access successful careers. We provide information on initiatives by professional bodies to widen access for those from under-represented groups and disadvantaged backgrounds. Check out the Sector Summaries for non-graduate routes into the professions and watch our career videos to see how people from all sorts of backgrounds have entered the professions. They provide some ideas for how you can increase your chance of becoming a professional.

Access to university

Sutton Trust Report on University admissions by individual schools documents the extent to which a few highly socially and academically selective schools dominate admissions to the country’s leading research universities. But there are many organisations offering support to those from under-represented groups to access university. Check out the resources on our careers advisors pages.

You may be interested in information on mentoring schemes and professional internships, both of which can help you access the professions.

The Sector Summaries provide information from the professional bodies responsible for the careers in each sector on any funding available for professional qualifications and on any initiatives they are involved in to widen access to the professions.

Resources

Here you will find a list of some of the organisations offering advice, support and information to employees. This includes organisations working on the specific diversity strands as well as some general information about initiatives to improve access to the professions.