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Bridget Phillipson, Minister for Women and Equalities, hosted cross-sector voices on fixing class inequality
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Priorities of the new Class Unit set out to drive fairer outcomes in health services, access to jobs and community pride for working-class Brits
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Phillipson says “class stigma, stereotypes and disadvantages” must be confronted head on
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Bridget Phillipson, the Minister for Women and Equalities, hosted the first roundtable of the government’s new Class Unit, bringing together experts, community leaders and people with lived experience to help shape its work.
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The creation of the Class Unit in the heart of government marks a renewed drive to stamp out the inequalities and barriers that exist for working-class communities.
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Initial priorities for the Class Unit discussed at the roundtable included:
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tackling unequal outcomes in public services, including maternal health outcomes, community safety and opportunities for young people
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fairer access to good jobs, addressing attainment and access gaps, class stigmas in the workplace and financial security
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better life chances for every postcode, ending the vicious cycle of child poverty, focusing on intergenerational factors and geographic deprivation that cause deep-rooted disadvantage
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Minister for Women and Equalities, Bridget Phillipson, said:
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\n Class stigma, stereotypes and disadvantages are ever present in our lives, from classrooms, to careers or in healthcare.
\n\n We’ve taken big steps in the past 2 years to tackle child poverty and level the playing field across our communities, but there’s a long way to go, and the contributions of experts and those with lived experience will be invaluable as we work to shift deep-rooted inequalities.
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After the roundtable, the minister spoke to youth participants from Mission 44, a charitable foundation set up by Sir Lewis Hamilton, to hear their perspectives on what practical changes could help them manage the leap from classroom to career.
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The Unit will also be leading on the manifesto commitment to commence the socio-economic duty. This is a new legal requirement for public bodies to consider how to improve the lives of lower-income families when making decisions about public services.
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Notes to editors
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Attendees at the roundtable included:
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\n - Professor Lindsey Macmillan – Founding Director of the UCL Centre for Education Policy and Equalising Opportunities
\n - Professor Fiona Devine – Vice-President and Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Professor of Sociology, University of Manchester
\n - Jason Arthur – CEO, Mission 44
\n - Millie Light – Research Associate, Changing Realities Project
\n - Katrin McEntee – Strategic Lead – Right to Health, Just Fair
\n - Jenny Baskerville – Chief Executive, The Bridge Group
\n - Graham Whitham – Chief Executive, Greater Manchester Poverty Action (Resolve Poverty)
\n - Ben Plowden – Chief Executive, Campaign for Better Transport
\n - Lord Victor Adebowale CBE – Chair of the NHS Confederation
\n - Professor Sam Friedman – Professor of Sociology, London School of Economics
\n - Priya Sahni Nicholas – Co-Executive Director, The Equality Trust
\n - Carl Cullinane – Director of Research and Policy, The Sutton Trust
\n - Chris Wellings – Director or Learning and Impact, Thrive at Five
\n - Savannah Burney – Senior Policy Adviser, Barnado’s
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Supporting statistics
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Women in the most deprived areas are twice as likely to die in childbirth as those in the least deprived (Amos investigation, MBRRACE-UK)
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36% of people in top jobs were privately educated, against 7% of the population (Sutton Trust, Elitist Britain 2025)
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27% of children live in poverty after housing costs – 72% of them are in working families (Department for Work and Pensions, Households Below Average Income (HBAI) statistics 2024 to 2025)
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The Minister for Women and Equalities has strategic oversight of business and policy including:
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