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ALMOST a fifth of adults believe they have missed out on a job because of their background, accent or social status, research suggests.
A Co-op survey of 8,500 people found that one in 10 have been teased over their accent, leading some to change the way they speak during a job interview.
The company said it was taking action to tackle the issue after its study revealed that many people believe the opportunities available to them are fewer and the outlook tougher, because of their background.
It is introducing a business plan on social mobility, which includes changing internal job adverts to make it easier for staff to find a new role and establishing a mentoring scheme for those from lower socio-economic backgrounds.
The company also set out plans to ask the government to make socio-economic background a protected characteristic, and will look to publish a socio-economic class pay gap report in 2024.
Shirine Khoury-Haq, chief executive of the Co-op Group, said: “Too often our life chances are defined by things outside of our control, be that gender, ethnicity, disability or socio-economic background."
