What is more likely to rule you out of a City job?
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One candidate told researchers that his mentor had said that, while he had done well in an interview and was “clearly quite sharp”, he was not the right “fit” for the bank because he was not polished enough.
The Social Mobility Commission, which examines inequality and child poverty in the United Kingdom, warns unspoken dress codes and a bias against certain speech patterns are holding back efforts to break down class barriers in London’s banks.
Researchers from Royal Holloway University of London and the University of Birmingham found that managers often chose candidates who displayed “polish” and who would be the “best fit” to present to clients.
“For men, the wearing of brown shoes with a business suit is generally considered unacceptable by and for British bankers within the investment banking division”, the report said.
A new report released Thursday by the Social Mobility Commission, which was set up by the U.K. government in 2010, looked at the unwritten expectations of investment bankers in the United Kingdom.
Senior managers believe wearing brown shoes with a suit is unacceptable, according to a United Kingdom government-commissioned report by the Social Mobility Commission.
The report states that those in corporate finance have an inherent dislike to brown shoes with suits, both in the United Kingdom and in continental Europe.
One anonymous banker admitted that such discrimination was commonplace: “In corporate finance, if you’ve got the wrong cut of suit, if you are wearing the wrong shoes, or tie, or you look awkward in a suit, you’re done before you start”.
Wearing brown shoes with a suit was seen as a faux pas, for example. He added, “What kind of industry is this where I can be told that I’m a good candidate, I’m sharp, but I’m not polished enough?”
“Where issues relating to dress were raised by interviewees, it was nearly always in relation to male business attire, underlining the strong association between investment banking and masculinity”.
While there are some banks that are doing excellent work in reducing these barriers, there are still too many that need to wake up and realise that it makes sound business sense to recruit people from all backgrounds.
“Indeed, the evidence presented here suggests that aspirant bankers can be ruled as unfit for the profession on the basis of speech, accent, dress or mannerism, even where their technical aptitude is exceptional”, the study says.
“In life sciences, graduate jobs often focus on a candidate’s practical skill as well as academic criteria – which may be more limited for non-privileged students who are known to face barriers to taking up placements and internships”.
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However, it pointed out that for professional-level scientific jobs, the profile “appears to be skewed to high achieving graduates from relatively privileged backgrounds”.
