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Top businesswoman reveals the challenges she faced because of her accent and education as a report highlights a possible £19billion economic boost from firms’ tackling social mobility
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Dragon’ Den star Sara Davies says she had to work “twice as hard” to get where she is because of people’s prejudices about her.
The comprehensive-educated entrepreneur comes from a County Durham mining village and is still fiercely proud of her roots and North East accent.
Sara, 40, who founded a successful arts and crafts company, says when starting out in business, her background worked against her.
“Quite often I was the only woman in the room, I was the only young person in the room, and I was the only person who sounded like this in the room,” the businesswoman, whose parents owned a decorating store for more than 30 years, told the Mirror.
“It used to frustrate me that people had a preconceived idea of me. They assumed that, because I had an accent and sounded like this, clearly I wasn’t as capable, or wasn’t as well educated, or I wasn’t going to be as good as my counterparts who had been through a private education, or who had grown up in a much more well-to-do-town or whatever it is.
“I had to work twice as hard as the other people because I was always under-estimated. I started everything on the back front. I felt it first hand. For me, I turned that into fuel whereas a lot of people have been put in a box and they’ll sit in that box, whereas I was ‘you’re not putting me in a god damn box, I’ll show you’. It really drove me and that is what has inspired me to make a difference.”
Sara was speaking as she helped launch a report from think tank Demos, which was commissioned by the Co-op, into social mobility in the workplace.
Among its hard-hitting findings are that if all businesses invested significantly in promoting social mobility in their workforce they could deliver as much as a £19billion boost to the economy, generate around £6.8billion in annual tax revenues and increase profits by over £1.8billion a year.
Polling also found 29% of consumers say they would be more likely to purchase a product or service from an organisation promoting social mobility.
One definition of social mobility is “the link between a person’s occupation or income and the occupation or income of their parents”
Despite advancements, evidence suggests many of those looking for a job, or progressing their careers, face huge barriers based on their background. For instance, the Social Mobility Foundation says professionals from working-class backgrounds are being typically paid £6,291 – or 12% – less than their more privileged peers in the same occupation.
Shirine Khoury-Haq, Co-operative Group chief executive, says: “Too often our life chances are defined by our backgrounds – by gender, ethnicity, disability, or socio-economic background. It cannot be right that those from less privileged backgrounds are almost twice as likely to end up in lower paying jobs than others from more privileged backgrounds.
“By encouraging better workplace social mobility, we can enable people to reach their potential, develop a wider talent pool for businesses and diversify the workplace.”
Sara, who appeared on Strictly Come Dancing back in 2021 with professional dancing partner Aljaž Škorjanec, grew up in the village of Coundon. Her dad, Frank, ran a small transport company, while mum, Susan, ran the local wallpaper and paint shop. The shop had been set up by Frank for Susan to run while she looked after Sara and her younger sister, Helen. When Sara received her MBE in for her services to the economy, Frank was there.
She says she does not agree with trying to tackle the issue with quotas when it comes to applicants or employment. But she added: “I think we are making strong progress, and I do think changes in the economy and the way businesses adapted over the pandemic has accelerated the progress we have made. But if I were running the country, this is an area I would put more focus on because I believe it can create more prosperity.”
Among the report’s recommendations to government are to give Skills England a statutory responsibility to increase social mobility, create a government-backed Better Opportunities Fund, and ensure social mobility is factored into public sector procurement.
