Revealed: working class people paid thousands less than middle class peers despite doing same jobs

Steven Barrett, a commercial barrister, says he ‘posh washed’ himself to succeed. Photograph: Sophia Evans/The Observer

People from working-class families earn several thousands of pounds a year less on average for doing the same jobs as their more privileged peers, according to a landmark study of the class pay gap.

Professionals from working-class backgrounds earn £6,718 less on average, while women and most ethnic minorities face a double disadvantage, according to the Social Mobility Foundation (SMF), which conducted the research. Working-class professional women earn £9,450 less than men, while working-class Bangladeshi professionals earn £10,432 less than their white counterparts in the same jobs.