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Educational inequality is a global issue. A child’s socioeconomic background is still a critical factor in his or her ability to access high-quality education, attend university, and get a job afterwards. In the UK, educational inequality is so rampant that the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development showed that the poorest children in the UK were ‘more unhappy and more discouraged’ than any other developed country other than Turkey.

In order to have a career in science, job candidates are expected to at least have an undergraduate degree, but usually a PhD qualification. This often involves being able to support oneself financially through an expensive education system and, at least initially, a relatively low paying job. Royal Society research of a 1986 cohort shows that those living within the highest income bracket at age 16 were ‘five times as likely to progress to a professional level [scientific] occupation’, than those living in the lowest household income bracket’. The parents of those in the highest income bracket were largely better educated, demonstrating the self-fulfilling socioeconomic cycle facing those who work in science today.

As the UK’s economy becomes more research and technology driven, the demand for STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) graduates is skyrocketing. We need to break down these socioeconomic walls to encourage and enable more scientists into the field if we are to meet these demands.  

This year marks the 30 year fall of the Berlin Wall. When the world is becoming increasingly obsessed with building them, let’s break down the walls in science!