Project group "Social Mobility"

The initiator of the project idea, Susana Tavares, writes:

Social mobility is certainly one of the major goals of every society, but equalising educational opportunities for everyone is not enough. In my opinion, one of the biggest obstacles for people from socio-economically weaker backgrounds is being able to imagine a different working environment at all. Especially as a child, the only interface to professional life is often friends and family, which leads to the consolidation of existing social hierarchies in a school system that already classifies children into categories for future professions at the age of 12. It is therefore certainly more difficult for working-class children to imagine themselves in university than for children of professors.

 

One of the mechanisms that reinforce this tendency is, in my opinion, "take your kid to work" day. Children are sent to work with their parents one day a year. Although it makes sense to expose children to the world of work from an early age, the current system promotes the previously-described cementation of professional hierarchies. It would be beneficial for social mobility and actual equal opportunities if children were confronted with different professional worlds than their parents' from an early age.

 

My project idea would be to develop a platform where parents/companies can register for different "take your kid to work" days. We would need to encourage parents to register for this platform and choose a chaperone for their child to accompany on one of these days.

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Are you considering contributing to the realisation of Susana's idea? Let us know about your interest in the form below!