the details
On Monday, 17 March 2025, experts, policymakers, and business leaders gathered at Mansfield College, Oxford for a thought-provoking day exploring the economics of social mobility.
The event examined the barriers to mobility, the role of education and employment, and the impact of economic policies on different demographics. Attendees gained valuable insights into how targeted interventions and innovative practices can drive inclusive growth, benefiting individuals, businesses, and society as a whole.
Through keynote talks, panel discussions, and collaborative sessions, participants engaged in meaningful conversations about shaping a more equitable future.
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“Social mobility isn’t just about helping individuals succeed – it’s also about giving businesses access to the best talent, regardless of family background. This opportunity is open to everyone, whether you’re exploring economics for the first time or building on existing knowledge.”
photos from the day
KeyNote Speakers
Sarah Atkinson
Sarah is Chief Executive of the Social Mobility Foundation (SMF), a leading UK charity working to unlock potential, broaden horizons and create opportunities with and for ambitious young people held back because of their socioeconomic background. The SMF runs successful programmes supporting young people to access higher education and highly skilled careers, and influences policy makers and business to create more diverse workplaces including through the UK Social Mobility Employer Index.
Before joining the SMF, Sarah was director of policy, strategy and communications at the Charity Commission having started her career in the private sector in communications and public policy. She is a board member of ACEVO, the membership body for charity leaders, and has previously been a trustee of Endometriosis UK, the Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years, and Womankind Worldwide. Sarah is a volunteer mentor for the Leaders Plus Fellowship and has previously served on the City of London taskforce on socioeconomic diversity in financial services and the Charity Tax Commission
Lee Elliot Major
Lee Elliot Major is Britain’s first Professor of Social Mobility, based at the University of Exeter. He was previously Chief Executive of the Sutton Trust.
He works closely with school leaders, universities, Governments and global employers across the world to develop practical ways of improving educational and life prospects.
His Penguin book Social Mobility and Its Enemies has attracted attention across the world. His latest book Equity in Education was immediately ranked among Amazon’s ‘Hot New Releases in Education’.
Lee is one of the most prominent public voices in national debates on education inequities. He is the first in his family to go to university and was awarded an OBE in 2019.
He holds several academic posts including Associate Member, Nuffield College, University of Oxford, and Associate, London School of Economics, Centre for Economic Performance. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences and serves on the Strategic Advisory Network of the Economic and Social Research Council.
SPEAKERS & PANELLISTS
Amanda gethin
With extensive experience across all dimensions of the people agenda, Amanda is the Global Talent Leader for the Global Consulting business within EY. As part of the Global Consulting Leadership team, she drives a holistic and integrated talent strategy designed to enable the level of transformation and performance required to effect change and to ensure continued success.
She is also the Executive Sponsor of the Global Women in Technology program and is a member of the Global Social Equity Taskforce. As Global Consulting Talent Leader, Amanda uses her seat at the C-Suite table to co-design human-centric, transformative strategies, aspiring to create cultures that inspire people to embrace change, and take risks for the greater good. Amanda empowers leaders to harness the collective intelligence of the organization and lead with the art of the possible. She is a thought leader, executive coach, and speaker on leadership topics including leadership agility and psychological safety.
Charles Read
Charles Read is the Senior Tutor and a Tutorial Fellow at Regent’s Park College, Oxford. He is an economist and historian of Britain, Ireland and the British empire over the past two centuries. His research focuses on the causes and consequences of economic slumps, financial crises and famines.
Prior to joining Oxford, Charles was based at the University of Cambridge where he was Junior Proctor of the University, a British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow and an Affiliated Lecturer in both the Faculty of History and the Faculty of Economics. He was also a Fellow, Director of Studies and Tutor at Corpus Christi College, where he was the Master’s deputy and chair of the Education Committee.
Charles has a particular interest in the design of programmes aimed at widening participation and closing awarding gaps at Oxford and Cambridge. At Corpus he was the founding director of the Corpus Bridging Course, the college’s flagship widening-participation scheme that quadrupled the share of student body from the most educationally under-served backgrounds. It was the first scheme of its type launched in Cambridge and has since been adopted by many other colleges. He also helped to set up the Bridging Course at Peterhouse, Cambridge, and to introduce Astrophoria Foundation Year places at Regent’s Park College, Oxford.
mATHIAS jENSEN
Mathias is a Senior Research Fellow at the Department of Economics, University of Oxford, and a Non-Stipendiary Research Fellow at Nuffield College. His research agenda centres on inequalities in the labour market.
Currently, Mathias studies labour market inequalities from three distinct perspectives. First, in the roles of gender and family dynamics in the labour market. Second, he explores the economic effects of parental death on children. Third, Mathias studies the outcomes of children of immigrants relative to the children of locals.
With these research projects, Mathias aims to contribute to a nuanced understanding of labour market dynamics, earnings disparities, familial influences, and the socio-economic trajectories of diverse populations.
Helen Price
Helen is Director of Governance at the Church of England Pensions Board which she joined in 2023. She leads on the Pensions Board’s approach to stewardship in support of a ‘just’ world, a remit which includes a particular focus on governance, corporate sustainability, and voting. Helen is passionate about the role of pension funds in moving to a more sustainable business world and brings with her experience from her previous role as head of stewardship and her involvement in industry-wide initiatives to improve standards. Helen was the inaugural recipient of the ICGN Rising Stars award in 2021 and holds a BA (hons) in Business studies.
Helen is eager to improve representation within the industry and at companies in which we invest. She founded and co-leads the Asset Owner Diversity Charter, an asset owner led initiative which aims to build an industry which represents a more balanced and fair representation of diverse societies.
Kjell G. Salvanes
Kjell G. Salvanes is a Research Professor in labor economics at the Norwegian School of Economics NHH. He is the founding Research Director at the Center of Empirical Labor Economics at NHH, and Principal Investigator and Deputy Director of the Centre of Excellence FAIR. His primary research interests are in labor economics. He has worked extensively on early investment in children and long-term outcomes, inequality in income, health and education, and intergenerational mobility. He is a former Managing Editor of the Economic Journal, and associate editor of the European Economic Review. His work has been published in economic flagship journals such as American Economic Review, Journal of Political Economy, Quarterly Journal of Economics, and the Review of Economic Studies. He is the current President of the European Association of Labour Economists (EALE), as well as a previous President of the European Society of Population Economics. He is an elected fellow of the Society of Labor Economists (SOLE) and an elected fellow at the European Association of Labour Economists (EALE). He is also an elected member of the Norwegian Academy of Science.
kate tojeiro
Kate Tojeiro is an Executive Coach, Board Advisor, media contributor and author (fiction and non-fiction), with over 15 years working at C level with FTSE 100, Fortune 500 and Nasdaq listed companies across the world. She co-hosts the Lifestream podcast with her daughter Tabi Tojeiro, an actor, their guests are from all walks of life talking about what inspires them and how they get through the difficult days.
In her coaching practice, both one-one-one and in groups, she mixes conventional and unconventional approaches underpinned by the latest in neuroscience. It is her mission to help the leaders of today, and tomorrow, be successful individually and collectively by embracing their fullest human potential and overcoming fear.
A regular fixture on BBC radio and a respected voice across the media, Kate works with leaders, teams, and the next generation of rising stars.
She is an advocate for those that have grown up in the shadows of addiction and an ambassador for Child Of, a Community Interest Company that tackles social issues through the power of art supporting those touched by addiction or in recovery.
She is also an associate faculty member of the Cambridge University Judge Business School and a Fellow of the RSA.
Ralph Warrell
Ralph is an investment analyst within the Multi-Asset Research Team at HSBC Asset Management. He joined HSBC Asset Management as part of the first degree apprentice cohort, starting just after he completed his A-levels. Ralph has been a part of HSBC Asset Management for just over three years, where he has gained experience across the Multi-Asset Research and Quantitative Equity franchises. Within this time, he has also completed the IMC and CFA ESG qualifications. Ralph is currently in the process of finishing his degree with the London Institute of Banking and Finance, and is working towards the CFA. Ralph plays an active role within the social mobility work stream at HSBC Asset Management, where he has contributed to the development of the outreach, work experience, and apprenticeship programs.
Laura Van Der Erve
Laura is a senior consultant at Oxford Policy Management, and previously worked as a senior economist at the Institute for Fiscal Studies. Her research has focused on intergenerational mobility and educational inequality, and she has leveraged rich linked administrative datasets to understand disparities in income mobility across regions, ethnic groups, and genders within the UK. Her work has identified stark differences in upward mobility for individuals from low-income families, revealing how local educational and labour market opportunities shape later-life opportunities.
Her research has also examined how higher education impacts mobility, highlighting variation in outcomes across universities, courses, and disciplines. This has found that selective institutions often underperform in mobility for low-income students, while London-based and less-selective universities achieve higher mobility rates. Passionate about driving evidence-based policy, her work has aimed to inform strategies that reduce inequality and promote economic opportunity for underrepresented groups.
Sophie Hulm
Sophie is the CEO of Progress Together, a not-for-profit organisation which supports employers across the UK’s financial services sector to level the playing field for employees from working class backgrounds. As Head of Skills Policy at the City of London, Sophie was the founder and architect of a Government-commissioned Socio-Economic Diversity Taskforce. Sophie sees a clear link between the skills and labour challenges which exist in UK financial services and the need for greater socio-economic diversity at senior levels. Sophie joined Progress Together as Chief Executive in September 2022.
Currently, Sophie sits on the SteerCo for the 30% Club and has led a number of high-profile initiatives, including the Lord Mayor’s Dragon Awards. Throughout her working life, Sophie has focused on the power of business to bring about change, including working for a welfare-to-work organisation, a Corporate Responsibility membership body, and as a trustee for Governors for Schools. Her dad is a working-class East Londoner, and her mum is a retired academic with immigrant parents. She lives with her partner and two mixed-race children who are big fans of Minecraft.
Martin Nybom
Martin is an associate professor at IFAU in Uppsala, a research fellow at IZA and the UCLS, Uppsala University, and an associated researcher at Stockholm University. He earned his PhD at Stockholm University in 2013. He has extensive experience in the international academic community and has interacted with policymakers in the Swedish government and various international organisations.
His fields of interest include labor economics and applied microeconomics, with a particular focus on topics such as inequality, intergenerational mobility, and the labor market effects of skills and education. Martin has worked with people from around the world and used data from many different countries. His recent research has focused on the role of the labor market in social mobility, which will also be the topic of his talk.
Sarah Tricker
Sarah is a Senior Sales Director at Procter & Gamble (P&G), currently leading its Northern Europe high street and pharmacy sales team. A leader with a unique background compared to her peers, Sarah spent her first four years at P&G working as an engineer within its Product Supply function, before moving into sales. Across her 27 years at the company, she has worked within multiple sectors, customer teams and geographies.
Sarah joined P&G straight from the University of Cambridge. She was not only the first person from her school to secure a place there, but also the first person in her family to go to university. Throughout her studies, she worked to fund her degree, taking up part-time roles during term-time and the holidays in order to support herself.
Alongside her day job, Sarah is heavily involved in P&G’s efforts to diversify its approach to recruitment. She has been involved in the company’s HeadStart programme since it began, leading a team of employees in delivering employability workshops in local schools, to help nurture and develop young talent. Sarah has also worked with a number of Commercial Apprentices at P&G, and currently has four working on her team.
Duro Oye
Duro is the CEO and founder of the multi-award-winning charity, 20/20 Levels. Since its inception in 2013, the organisation has directly empowered over 3,750 young people and reached a wider community of more than 22,000. Focused on supporting individuals from Black, racially underrepresented, and low socio-economic backgrounds, 20/20 Levels helps young people discover their potential and carve out successful futures in careers and entrepreneurship through a range of transformative programs.
A long-time champion of social impact, he is committed to driving meaningful change through his work as the founder and CEO of 20/20 Levels. Willing to take on the risks and challenges of innovation, he leads initiatives that create lasting social and economic opportunities. The organisation’s evolving business model now integrates business development mentorship for aspiring entrepreneurs while staying true to its core mission of personal and professional growth.
Having secured over £3.5 million in funding over the past seven years—through a mix of grants and multi-year corporate sponsorships with partners like Virgin Media O2, American Express GBT, Jacobs, and Land Securities – Duro is driven by a bold vision for the future. His goal is for 20/20 Levels to impact a billion lives worldwide, creating lasting change and overcoming today’s youth challenges. At its core, the program is designed to empower young people with the skills, confidence, and opportunities to build their own futures.
Duro also serves as an Executive Coach and trusted advisor to several FTSE 250 CEOs. He is an active board contributor, holding key roles such as Chair of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee at Charity People, DE&I Impact Champion at The Conduit London, trustee for Acumen Academy UK, and Ambassador for the Home Grown Club.
A lifelong advocate for change and empowerment, Duro began his journey in storytelling after earning a diploma in Documentary Filmmaking from London Met Film School. He has since produced powerful documentaries, including 247365 Change, County Lines: Teenage Drug Runners in collaboration with the BBC, and Gangland (Seasons 1 & 2) with Channel 5, shedding light on critical social issues.
Download the Brochure
Key Themes
Breaking Barriers
- Tackling challenges to upward mobility.
- How education drives economic opportunity.
Business and Impact
- Driving inclusion through hiring and progression.
Cutting-Edge Research
- Insights shaping policy and practice.
Panel Discussions
- Explore diverse perspectives on promoting mobility through recruitment, progression, and collective responsibility.
the schedule
Part of the annual OUBEP Economics of Diversity Series, the 2025 seminar Unlocking Social Mobility: New Opportunities for Business and Policy continues our commitment to exploring critical economic dimensions of Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion. This series unites academics, business leaders, and policymakers to share insights and shape impactful EDI strategies.
the history
The history of OUBEP is in many ways the history of changing social attitudes towards business in Britain over the past 70 years.
OUBEP was founded by a group of business leaders during the period following the Second World War – a time of immense political, economic and societal change – “…to bring the ‘leaders of tomorrow’ from the public and private sectors together, to better understand modern economic thinking, and therefore the bigger picture in which they would one day operate.”
Over the last 70 years, OUBEP has evolved and adapted to meet the requirements of the modern world. However, to this day it maintains its foundational intent to bring together a gathering of bright minds to better understand and discuss the impact of the global economy, and to ultimately benefit business and society.