Professor Sam Friedman

Sam Friedman is a sociologist of class and inequality, and his research focuses in particular on the cultural dimensions of contemporary class division. He recently co-authored Born To Rule which explores how the British elite has changed over the last 120 years. He is now working on two new projects; 1) cross-class friendship and 2) the social stratification of contemporary cultural taste.

Key expertise: Social Mobility, Social Class, Elites, Taste, Cultural Distinction

Sam is currently working on two new projects. The first is a qualitative study (with Rose Butler) that explores how people manage differences in class background in the construction and maintenance of close friendships in the UK and Australia. The second is a mixed methods study (with Aaron Reeves) that aims to update our understanding of cultural taste in the UK. The first stage, a large-scale survey carried out with NatCen, was carried out in August 2025.

Alongside these projects, Sam continues to research the British elite, building on his recent book  Born To Rule (with Aaron Reves). The book built on their ERC Starting Grant project - where they examined the propulsive power of top private schools, the changing nature of elite culture and the meaning of merit – to provide a new understanding of the British elite. At the heart of the book is a historical database created by extracting biographies from Who’s Who, mining genealogical records, combing through probate data, and interviewing over 200 prominent people, to uncover who runs Britain, how they think, and what they want.

Sam also retains research interests in social mobility into higher professional and managerial occupations, building on his book (with Daniel Laurison) The Class Ceiling: Why it Pays to be Privileged. Recently he has extended this work to look at the class-origin pay gap in the US as well as exploring how progression is shaped by class background within the UK Civil Service. This project has also involved looking more closely at the double disadvantage women face in such elite occupations. Specifically, he finds that men from working-class backgrounds are more likely (than women) to identify as coming from a working-class background, to talk openly about their background, and to feel comfortable displaying embodied markers of their origin. In contrast, women from working-class backgrounds overwhelmingly choose to conceal their backgrounds in the Civil Service, presuming that such disclosures will only leave them vulnerable to negative judgment.

Sam is part of the Social Inequalities and Knowledge, Culture and Technology research clusters.

Sam is Co-Director of the MSc in Culture and Society. He teaches modules on Class, Culture and Meritocracy and Social Scientific Analysis of Inequalities.

Sam is committed to making his research accessible to wider audiences, engaging practitioners, policymakers, and the public.

• Sam is a member of ITV's Cultural Advisory Council, providing independent advice which supports the delivery of ITV’s Diversity Acceleration Plan and global Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) strategy. The Council advises ITV on creating and showcasing content which connects and reflects modern audiences, focusing efforts on mainstream content, creating opportunities, inclusive culture, and accessibility and disability equity.
• Sam was interviewed on The Guardian's Today in Focus podcast, where he discusses the enduring influence of private schools in the making of the British elite.
• Sam was interviewed by The Times on a podcast entitled "Who really runs Britain?"
• Between 2018 and 2021, Sam was a Commissioner at the Social Mobility Commission. He wrote the 2021 research report Navigating the Labyrinth: Socio-economic Background and Career Progression within the Civil Service.