It’s hard to think of anything that epitomizes America more than the American dream. The notion that people can make something of their lives regardless of their starting point has defined the nation for centuries. Research from Dartmouth College suggests that it doesn’t really apply anymore, however.

The study highlights how many Americans are struggling to pay their bills, with these challenges often stratified along racial lines, with Black homeowners twice as likely to lose their homes as white homeowners. The authors argue that this is often because of the lack of financial support from extended family, and the higher rates of poverty across family networks.

Leveling the playing field

While it may be tempting to suggest that business has no place in trying to level the playing field for those more socioeconomically disadvantaged workers, it’s actually good business sense to try and do so.

For instance, a recent study showed that 80% of all tenure-track faculty members in the United States derived from just 20% of PhD-granting institutions. What’s more, no historically Black colleges and universities were among that 20%. Indeed, one in eight tenure-track faculty members got their PhDs from either Harvard, Stanford, UC Berkeley, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, or the University of Michigan.

Things are no better in other fields. Only 6% of doctors, 12% of journalists, and 12% of chief executives come from working-class backgrounds. People from poorer backgrounds face numerous disadvantages during the recruitment process but also in work as well.

For instance, research has shown that we tend to rate salespeople less highly when they speak with an accent. Indeed, we may even be less inclined to nominate someone for a promotion if they have a strange accent.

The class ceiling

It’s perhaps no surprise that research has found that people from lower social classes are 32% less likely to land managerial roles, which makes it even less likely that a working-class individual will become a manager than a woman or African-American.

Yet while other minority groups tend to have policies designed to equalize access, there is precious little to boost the class diversity in our organizations. This is a mistake, as research has shown that people from poorer backgrounds actually make better leaders than their better-off peers. This is because they tend to value things like community and interdependence over self-sufficiency and independence.

The researchers found that these individuals were more likely to be people-oriented, servant leaders who were keen to empower their teams. Unfortunately, due to their poor backgrounds, many weren’t given the opportunities to practice such leadership.

Lacking confidence

Self-doubt can also plague the prospects of people from poorer backgrounds. Research has found that people of higher social class tend to have an exaggerated belief in their abilities, especially compared to their lower-class peers. What’s more, this over-confidence often allows them to bluff their way into positions of power.

“Advantages beget advantages. Those who are born in upper-class echelons are likely to remain in the upper class, and high-earning entrepreneurs disproportionately originate from highly educated, well-to-do families,” the researchers explain. “Our research suggests that social class shapes the attitudes that people hold about their abilities and that, in turn, has important implications for how class hierarchies perpetuate from one generation to the next.”

The reverse is often the case with people from poorer backgrounds, with anxiety and self-doubt harming their prospects. If organizations can work with people to overcome these fears then exceptional leaders can be forged, but it needs work and support to happen.

Addressing weaknesses

Research from the University of Basel highlights the crucial role self-belief can play in our success in life. When we believe something is possible then it can become a form of the Pygmalion effect, whereby our beliefs become reality.

The researchers show that while cognitive skills are important, the most important determining of success in both one’s education and career was the aspirations held as a youngster. Indeed, the researchers believe that a lack of ambition when young is a key factor in the lack of social mobility we’re seeing today.

A good first step in helping those from poorer backgrounds thrive in their careers could be to build confidence at an early stage so that they believe they can thrive and are given the opportunities to do so.

In our research, we found that housing associations also played a crucial role in facilitating the acquisition of soft skills, building the confidence of people, and developing the networks and connections that are vital to progress in one’s career.

If you’re a business, however, then you might consider doing more to mentor socially disadvantaged people through your local community, while also significantly broadening your normal means of recruitment so that “invisible workers” get picked up. You might even consider creating formal DEI-focused initiatives to ensure that people from socially disadvantaged backgrounds aren’t frozen out.

We’re in the midst of a talent shortage, so it’s good business sense to ensure that people from socially disadvantaged backgrounds aren’t invisible to your talent management efforts. Doing so will also help to ensure that the American Dream really gets back on track and becomes viable for the next generation again.