SIR – The new research for the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission shows how much the establishment is dominated by people of a certain class.

To counter the correlation of private schooling and high-powered jobs, the commission suggests employers should ask for an overview of a candidate’s academic achievements that is ‘university blind’ and that the social background of staff should be published.

Although this new bureaucracy might help, we need a more fundamental shift in culture.

Ethnic minorities and white working classes may share the same financial barriers to private education, but Muslims also face racial barriers, and Muslims in the UK suffer more than double the UK’s average poverty level.

There are few role models in mainstream culture. Not only is the elite putting up financial barriers, it makes it harder for young ethnic minorities to aspire to the top professions, whether it be politics or acting (just look at traditional BBC stalwarts like Dr Who, you will only see white – and green – faces).

Social elitism projects a skewed view of Britain’s diversity.

Dr Mohammed Ali, OBE, CEO of QED Foundation, Vicar Lane, Bradford