Measuring and Benchmarking “Socio-Economic Diversity” Across Countries

Organisations are increasingly taking an interest in their “socio-economic diversity” (the socio- economic background (SEB) of their recruits), alongside the more familiar ascribed characteristics of sex, ethnicity, and disability. While one’s sex, membership of an ethnic minority, or disability status can be conceived and measured comparatively easily across countries, often with a legal basis, the same cannot be said for SEB. Currently, multinational and international organisations are having to use SEB indicators developed for the United Kingdom for divisions in countries in North America, Europe, East Asia, and elsewhere.

SEB is normally gauged by asking for the occupation of the main-earning parent when a candidate was aged 14. This information is used to gauge their social class origin based on the employment relations within the occupation.

This project attempts to answer the question: Are SEB indicators developed for the UK context valid across international contexts?

Using quantitative methods and existing large-scale survey data, this project will answer this question, and potentially develop and validate, a new SEB classification that will influence how multinational and international organisations collect SEB data.

The project has four phases:

• Phase 1 – assembling and cleaning the data
• Phase 2 – developing the classification
• Phase 3 – validating the classification
• Phase 4 – writing up the results for journal publication

The main activities will be the statistical analysis of existing large-scale secondary datasets and validating detailed parental occupation in a large range of countries by using it to predict adult outcomes (using multivariate regression methods).

Training will be provided and we will have weekly meetings.

The main output will be a scientific publication published in a strong social science or human resource management journal.

The findings of the research will be disseminated to large employers and social mobility stakeholders across countries. There will also be presentations at academic conferences and practitioner workshops.

The intern will be involved in all aspects of the project.

• Possibly broader knowledge of an adjacent quantitative field.
• Working with a new academic, as a part of a wider community in the Centre for Research in Equality and Diversity and the School of Business and Management at Queen Mary University of London.
• An academic publication in a world-leading social science or human resource management journal.
• Knowledge of a new and flexible survey data, which can be used to investigate many other cross- national or nation-specific research questions, especially in relation to work, employment, and attitudes.
• Contribute towards your impactful research profile – as this project involves dissemination findings to large multinational and international organisations, including policy makers.

ssential criteria:

• Interest in the subject matter
• Studying for a PhD making use of quantitative methods (e.g., regression analysis)
• Experience of managing and analysing large-scale datasets, especially survey data

Desirable criteria:

• Proficient in the statistical software packages Stata or R
• Researching socio-economic background, or other ascribed characteristics (e.g., sex, ethnicity, disability) in relation to labour market outcomes (e.g., jobs, wages, etc.)
• Ability to write and present for academic and practitioner audiences

By the internship’s conclusion, the student will write a short report or blog post, which will be shared on social media.

1. Please send your CV and a brief cover letter outlining your interest and suitability to the project supervisor(s). Please contact the project supervisor(s) in advance of submitting the application with any questions.

2. If selected by the project supervisor

• LISS DTP students must then complete the LISS DTP Placement /Internship Application form. This ensures that there is approval of PhD supervisor, and the necessary information is obtained to extend funding (for DTP1 students) or confirm placement requirement fulfilled (for DTP2 students), and to fulfil ESRC reporting obligations. LISS DTP approval must be given before the RA internship can commence.
• Other ESRC-funded DTP students should follow the internship application processes from their home DTP.

Please note for LISS DTP students:

• Research Assistant Internships must not be undertaken with the student’s current supervisor and/or home department.
• DTP1 students (those whose funding commenced before Oct24): a maximum of 4 Research Assistant internships will be funded. These will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis. Once the 4 DTP1 places are filled, we will inform PIs that only DTP2 students are eligible for the Research Assistant internships. PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL DTP1 PLACES HAVE NOW BEEN FILLED.
• DTP2 students (those whose funding commenced from Oct24): are required to complete a 3-month placement, which is funded through their studentship. No limits to number that can be funded.
• Reports: at the conclusion of the internship, the student will be required to complete an internship report, which will include a question for the internship host to feedback on the internship.

Contact liss-dtp@kcl.ac.uk with any questions.