Company: The 93% Club
Age: 25
Website: https://www.93percent.club/
Business: The 93% Club is a social mobility organisation helping students from less privileged backgrounds to gain employment.
About Sophie and The 93% Club
Sophie Pender is the founder of The 93% Club, a social mobility non-profit that supports state-educated students in finding employment. The 93% Club was founded in 2016 and empowers students through a range of networking events and partnerships with organisations that can provide mentoring and coaching.
Sophie was the first in her family to go to university, studying English at the University of Bristol after achieving three A*s at A-level – she was the first in her school to achieve such results. At university, she has discussed the shock she experienced when privately educated students mocked her accents and she discovered “chav parties”, where students would dress as their idea of working-class people. From these experiences, Sophie wanted to create a network to support those from less privileged backgrounds stating that she “didn’t see why people from working-class families should feel ashamed of their upbringing”.
In 2020, there were just two clubs but it has since grown to over 36 clubs with a reach of over 10,00 students. It has since gained charitable status and has received considerable corporate sponsorship from companies such as TeachFirst, Accenture, Newton Europe and Herbert Smith Freehills. Currently, The 93% Club is open to current undergraduate and postgraduate students but soon there will be the option for year 13 students, apprentices and graduates to access and connect with the network.
Sophie is now a practicing M&A lawyer and has won multiple awards for her work and she was recently featured in the Forbes 30 Under 30 for her work in diversity and inclusion.
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