Persistent Socioeconomic Disparities Among UK Doctors Revealed by New Study

A comprehensive 10-year study published in BMJ Open has highlighted ongoing social and economic inequalities within the UK's medical workforce. The research shows that individuals from professional backgrounds are significantly more likely to become doctors, with those from such backgrounds being six times more likely to enter the profession than those from working-class origins. Despite efforts over the past two decades aimed at improving diversity, only 4% of practicing doctors in 2014 came from lower-income, working-class backgrounds. The study analyzed data from the UK Office for National Statistics Labor Force Survey, covering 358,934 respondents aged 23 and older, with nearly 1% (around 2,772) currently working as doctors. Findings indicate that 69% of doctors came from professional backgrounds, compared to 32% from other job backgrounds, while only 13% originated from working-class families, versus 43% among non-doctors.

Further analysis revealed that individuals from households where the main earner was a doctor were 15 times more likely to follow the same career path, underscoring the influence of familial socioeconomic status. Conversely, respondents whose main earners worked in roles like cleaners, security guards, or drivers had very low probabilities of becoming doctors, around 1 in 500 to 1,500. The data also noted that these inequalities remained notably stable over several decades, with only weak signs of widening inequality observed after 2010. The researchers emphasize the need for stronger initiatives to enhance social mobility within the medical profession and advocate for the systematic collection of socioeconomic background data in medical workforce databases to better understand and address these disparities.

Although this study is observational and cannot establish causality, it underscores the significant underrepresentation of doctors from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. The findings raise concerns about workforce diversity and its potential impact on patient care, advocating for policy changes to make medical careers more accessible to underserved populations.

Source: https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-09-large-social-economic-inequalities-persist.html