social mobility (Vol 287) 00 Month 2011 www.pjonline.com The Pharmaceutical Journal 1 ACCORDING to the document “The coalition: our programme for Government”, David Cameron and Nick Clegg want a Britain where social mobility is unlocked, where everyone, regardless of background, has the chance to rise as high as their talents and ambitions allow them. The extent to which access to the pharmacy profession is open to talented individuals from all social backgrounds is a relatively under- researched area. Access to other purportedly more prestigious professions such as medicine and law are the subject of intense political scrutiny. They paint a rather depressing picture of social exclusivity, where the opportunities for young people to become socially mobile and climb up the social strata are relatively limited. By looking at data from the UK’s largest single-site university, this article examines patterns of access to the profession of pharmacy, which highlights an altogether more optimistic picture about the role this profession might be playing in creating a more socially mobile society. A key priority for the Government Social mobility has been a key priority for both the previous Labour and current coalition governments. It describes the degree to which, in a given society, an individual’s social status may change throughout the course of his or her life, or the degree to which that individual’s offspring and subsequent generations move up and down the class system. Vertical social mobility is the transition from one social status to another, commonly defined in terms of occupation and income. Relative social mobility refers to the comparative chances of people with different backgrounds ending up in certain social or income groups. Regardless of an individual’s background, everyone should have a fair chance of getting the job they want or reaching a higher income bracket. To this extent, higher education can be a powerful driver of social mobility, allowing people from low-income backgrounds to earn more than their parents and provide a route to better jobs, thereby realising their potential. The work of Alan Milburn has been influential in the UK. As a Labour MP, he chaired a commission leading to the report “Unleashing aspiration”, 1 where he argued social mobility will rise if there are either more professional opportunities or if chances to get into a professional career are more evenly spread. In 2010, he was appointed by the Deputy Prime Minister as an independent reviewer of social mobility and a further strategy, “Opening doors, breaking barriers”, 2 was produced. These influential reports have concluded that universities play a vitally important role in achieving social mobility by making current access routes fairer and ensuring that students who succeed in getting a place to study do so on the basis of their talent and merit, irrespective of background or income. Unfortunately, this is often not the case where, for example, 75 per cent of judges and 45 per cent of senior civil servants have been privately educated, and only 4 per cent of medical students came from the bottom two socio-economic groups. Moreover, the most advantaged 20 per cent of the young population are approximately seven times more likely to attend a selective university whereas equally qualified individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds have a lower propensity to apply to university. Those who do, however, often outperform their more privileged counterparts. Pharmacy and social mobility So, where does pharmacy fit into all this? Milburn’s data suggests that “tomorrow’s professional is today growing up in a family richer than seven in 10 of all families in the UK”. The conclusion from the report is that, if this growth in social exclusivity continues, it will mean more and more working and middle-class people will miss out on such professional employment opportunities in the future. What is interesting about these reports into social mobility is the extent to which pharmacy, as a profession and as a contributor to social mobility, has been overlooked. Milburn’s report had much to say about the medical profession. It is referred to 23 times in the report, whereas pharmacy is not referred The championing of social mobility at Manchester School of Pharmacy Social mobility is a key priority for the Government. David G. Allison and Julian Skyrme provide data from Manchester that suggest its pharmacy course promotes social mobility About the authors David G. Allison is senior lecturer in pharmaceutical microbiology, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Julian Skyrme is head of student recruitment and widening participation, both at the University of Manchester (email david.allison@manchester.ac.uk) Social mobility describes the degree to which, in a given society, an individual’s social status may change throughout the course of his or her life, or the degree to which that individual’s offspring and subsequent generations move up and down the class system ICEFIELDS/DREAMSTIME.COM