Populists like Donald Trump constantly promise to protect the people from the elites. But who are these elites who pull the strings of everything? And which factors determine the rise to the highest positions - personal achievements or rather social background?
Sociologist Michael Hartmann has studied this very question - based on data from the last 150 years in Germany. He says that he himself was surprised by the result: “To this day, more than four-fifths of the economic elite in Germany is formed by the top three to four percent of the population“.
A slight change was registered only between 1907 and 1927, Hartmann points out. Back then, more people from the bottom 96 percent were able to rise, but "in the next hundred years, the share of socially advanced people only increased by about 2.5 percent."
Women's quota: more women, but the "right ones"
For years, German companies have been implementing programs designed to promote diversity and gender equality. But when it comes to influential management positions, the elite still remains encapsulated. However, thanks to the introduction of a women's quota in recent years, the number of women in management positions has increased, Hartmann points out.
However, the Albright Foundation criticizes the fact that the ratio between women and men is still not balanced. “In particular, the highest management positions, which play a central role in decision-making, are still almost entirely in the hands of men. In principle, the higher the position, the less women are represented.“ The data provided by the foundation shows that women make up between 2.5 and 6.3 percent of senior management in German companies, and their share among members of the management and supervisory boards is slightly higher - between 19.7 and 37 percent. Women in such positions are even “more socially selected” than men, Hartmann told DW. The same applies to people with a migrant background, which often turns out to be a disadvantage.
Is social background more important than achievements?
The fact that candidates with “the right background” are selected for top positions does not mean that they can afford to work less. But discrimination starts with education. Children of people with higher education have a much easier time rising than children of workers. Almost 80 percent of children from educated families enroll in college, while the percentage of working-class children is only 26 percent, a study shows. And without a college degree, it is almost impossible to get a high-level job in the economy, Hartman points out.
He has found that, given the same level of education, children of the elite make a career faster and easier. Hartman's research results show that children of managers with a certain educational level are 17 times more likely to get on the board of directors of one of the 400 largest companies compared to children of workers with the same educational level.
It turns out that in the end, it is not achievements, but other criteria that determine who gets to the highest positions in the economy. The decisive factor may be how someone speaks, how they behave, or what their hobbies are. "You like to surround yourself with people who have similar interests, react in a similar way and speak in a similar way," Hartmann points out. The same goes for company leaders.
Working class children are displacing the middle class
In recent decades, however, the chances of working class children have developed positively, Hartmann's observations show. Their share has grown noticeably - but at the expense of middle class children, the sociologist notes.
“In the most basic terms: a working class child who has achieved a high level of education and is suitable for a certain leading position in the economy will displace, for example, the child of a teacher,” says Hartmann. However, he said, the proportion of children of the elite in leading positions has remained broadly unchanged.
How important is social permeability
If social background determines career paths, this has implications for economic growth. The lack of social permeability in the German economy results in an annual loss of 25 billion euros in GDP growth, according to the consultancy Page Personnel. A study by the consultancy McKinsey suggests that if social permeability were improved, GDP in the 27 EU countries could grow by nine percent, or 1.3 trillion euros.
There have always been exceptions in the field of social growth - former Siemens boss Joe Kesser is the child of a factory worker, for example. However, Hartmann says that these kinds of exceptions are always widely reported by the media to make people think that there are many of them.
But is it possible for exceptions to become the rule? Hartmann is convinced that this would only be possible with a legal quota. "This kind of quota is not liked at all, but in my opinion there is no other way," says the sociologist.
Author: Insa Wrede