The question that shouldn't matter, but still does
At the Oxford Union, Yale professor Daniel Markovits stood up in January 2022 and said something that made a lot of people uncomfortable: privilege often masquerades as effort.
The wealthy call their comfort "discipline," their access "achievement," and their head start "hard work." Meanwhile, the 93% of the UK workforce who went to state school grow up thinking they simply didn't try hard enough.
When privilege pretends to be hard work, it quietly reshapes what we believe about effort, fairness and success.
The question I got asked in every meeting
When I entered investment banking, there was one question I got asked over and over: "What school did you go to?"
I'd look people in the eye and say, "Millais."
With conviction. With confidence. With eye contact. And with a brief smile.
What I didn't say: it was a state-school all girls' comprehensive. My parents didn't go to university. When I got to university, I struggled to fit in. I changed the way I spoke. My Mum became my Mummy.
The question shouldn't have mattered. But it did.
Because the game wasn't about what I could do. It was about where I came from. And the people asking the question already knew the schools that counted.
The 93% problem
93% of the UK workforce went to state school, but they don't hold the best jobs, don't sit on the boards, and don't get the benefit of the doubt when a CV lands on someone's desk.
They fight harder because they don't have the ready-made family network from day one. Because their degree came from the "wrong" university. Because their parents didn't play golf with a senior leader.
This isn't a talent problem. It's a recognition problem.
We've built hiring systems that mistake pedigree for potential. That confuse polish with performance. That see a smooth path as proof of capability, when all it really proves is advantage and access.
And here's the uncomfortable bit: if you're reading this and nodding along, there's a high chance you've been on the wrong side of this. You've had to smile sweetly when someone asked you where you skied. You've downplayed your accent in an interview. You've watched someone less capable than you get promoted because they "fit the culture”.
You already know the system is broken.
The university question
People are asking whether university is still worth it. And the honest answer is: it depends what you think it's for.
If it's about network and life skills, then sure, maybe. If it's about learning to think, challenge yourself, survive on pot noodles and ambition, absolutely.
But if it's about getting a fair shot at the jobs that matter? The system says it does. Us 93% know it doesn’t.
Because right now, the value of a degree isn't what you learned. It's which university is on the certificate. And that decision was often made when you were 16, based on postcodes, school league tables, and whether your parents knew the UCAS system inside out. Or let you think that you needed to pick a subject for your degree that was one of your A-levels, like I did.
Democratisation is critical. Because your pedigree isn't everything. Your family history isn't everything. And your CV? Sorry, but that’s not everything either.
It's time to think GREY
We need a solution that looks at the person, not the persona.
That sees effort, resilience and raw capability, not just where someone went to school or who they know.
That understands the 93% aren't struggling because they lack talent. They're struggling because the system is designed to reward people who already had a head start.
This isn't about lowering the bar. It's about raising the floor. It's about building hiring and promotion systems that don't mistake privilege for hard work.
People are people. Not CVs. Not pedigrees. Not postcodes.
And if you're part of the 93% reading this, if you've ever had to smile sweetly when someone asked you "what school did you go to", you already know this needs to change.
So let's change it.
The question that shouldn't matter, but still does?
It’s time we made it irrelevant.