Yves here. I must admit that I had not fully grasped the extent of class bias in legislative roles. A contributing factor is that many candidates often highlight their working-class origins, creating the illusion that they remain connected to that socioeconomic background. In reality, most have attended college and transitioned to middle-class or professional-managerial careers. While these stories of upward mobility are celebrated in America, they often result in a disconnection from one’s roots, especially as individuals start to identify with their more privileged status.
The question of why lower-wage workers are underrepresented in politics is complex. One possible explanation is discrimination against distinct working-class accents and speech patterns. A friend from Australia, who grew up in a poorer region, shared that a teacher funded her elocution lessons. She believed that adopting a more refined accent significantly boosted her career prospects, despite Australia’s early 2000s reputation for being egalitarian.
I found the study’s definition of a working-class job intriguing. It surprisingly excludes individuals with stable employment, such as union members like bus drivers and garbage collectors, as well as nurses and medical support roles like lab technicians. My middle brother dedicated his career to the same paper mill. Although he successfully created a training position he held for three years—a maximum set by his union—most would categorize his work as blue-collar. He also served on his city’s planning commission for over a decade, claiming to influence some decisions during that time.
By Noam Lupu, Professor of Political Science, Vanderbilt University, and Nicholas Carnes, Professor of Public Policy and Political Science, Duke University. Originally published at The Conversation/
Both major political parties in the U.S. frequently claim to champion the working class; however, neither the Democrats nor the Republicans nominate a significant number of candidates with substantial working-class experience.
This lack of representation from working-class jobs in positions of power has real implications. Research from the U.S. and other democracies indicates that safety net programs are often less generous, business regulations are typically weaker, and protections for workers are inadequate when individuals from working-class backgrounds are not holding office in significant numbers. While working-class citizens can influence policy in various ways, the lack of representation often leads to their interests being overlooked in political systems worldwide.
Our research investigates the causes and ramifications of the absence of politicians from working-class jobs. We define working-class occupations as manual labor positions, roles in the service sector, such as restaurant servers, and clerical jobs, like receptionists.
We deliberately exclude small-business owners and those in heavily credentialed professions. Our focus remains on individuals in roles that typically lack stability or security.
Although a small number of prominent politicians hail from these occupations, such as U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who worked as a bartender prior to her election, and Troy Jackson, a Democratic Senate candidate from Maine with a background in logging, such cases are rare. Even Indiana state Senator Jim Tomes, a Republican, has a past as a truck driver and union steward.
There are comparable examples outside of the U.S., such as Stefan Löfven, the former Prime Minister of Sweden, and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the President of Brazil.
While these politicians garner significant media attention, overall, individuals from working-class backgrounds remain markedly underrepresented in political institutions.
The Working Class Rarely Holds Office
According to our findings, approximately half of all Americans in the labor force hold working-class jobs. Yet, those who entered politics from working-class jobs represent a mere 1% of the average state legislature, regardless of party affiliation. The same holds true for Congress.
The United States is not isolated in this trend. From 2016 onwards, we collaborated with researchers to compile data from 97 out of the 103 democracies with populations exceeding 300,000. Similar to the U.S., the average democracy worldwide draws only 2% of its national legislature from individuals with previous working-class experience.
Some attribute the lack of working-class representation in office to features of American elections, such as growing campaign costs or the decline of labor unions.
However, even in countries like Germany and Belgium, which provide public funding for candidates, or Finland, where a significant majority of workers are unionized, the proportion of individuals from working-class backgrounds in national legislatures remains at around 5% or lower.
What Keeps Workers Out of Office?
There appears to be no inherent deficiency among working-class Americans that accounts for their rarity in elected positions.
Working-class candidates are, in fact, comparable to white-collar professionals when it comes to qualifications, interest in running for office, and the likelihood of winning elections.
Our newly published book, “Keeping Workers Off the Ballot,” reveals that the primary obstacle preventing working-class Americans—and their global counterparts—from reaching elected office is their infrequent candidacy. The complexities of campaign life at any government level impose significant burdens, including time commitments, personal risks—ranging from embarrassment to potential violence—and unpredictable outcomes.
Surveys conducted in the U.S. and other democracies reveal that working-class individuals are disproportionately more likely than equally qualified professionals to cite concerns about taking time off work and financial instability as barriers to running for office.
This inequity is compounded by another challenge: across democracies, parties and interest organizations play crucial roles in candidate recruitment and support. These gatekeepers understand that working-class individuals face greater hurdles when pursuing elected positions.
Consequently, party leaders—despite genuine concern for the working class—tend to overlook qualified candidates from this demographic, favoring instead white-collar professionals whom they believe will navigate the campaign process with greater ease.
Reforms That Help Workers Are Possible
We believe there are viable strategies to mitigate the barriers preventing working-class individuals from assuming office.
In a report we authored for the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, we present a variety of recommendations. Some proposed reforms aim for immediate impact, such as establishing candidate training programs and political scholarships specifically targeting working-class individuals. Initiatives like the New Jersey AFL-CIO’s Labor Candidates School already exemplify such efforts.
Other suggestions, which may be less feasible in the current political landscape, include creating party or institutional quotas for those from working-class backgrounds or introducing randomly selected citizen juries to provide advice to policymakers.
However, without dedicated reform initiatives addressing the underlying factors that prevent working-class individuals from accessing elected positions, our research indicates that they are unlikely to constitute more than a tiny fraction of elected officials in both the U.S. and democracies globally.
