What Leaders Can Do Now
If social capital is as central as the research suggests, then cultivating it can no longer be left to chance. There are concrete steps that educators, employers, and policymakers can take.
1. Treat relationships as outcomes, not accidents. Schools and colleges should ask every student, explicitly: “Who are the adults inside and outside this institution who know your goals and will help you pursue them?” They can then design to fill the gaps through advisory systems, structured mentoring, alumni networks, career-connected learning, and partnerships with local employers. A simple metric—such as whether each graduate can name at least three non-family adults they could call for career advice or a reference—would force institutions to track what they currently ignore.
2. Build social capital into every pathway. From certificate programs to community colleges to coding boot camps, programs should be judged not only on completion rates and earnings but also on whether they expand students’ networks. That means more internships and clinical placements, employer-led projects, meet-and-greets with industry professionals, and structured alumni engagement.
3. Require mentorship at work. Research suggests that when mentorship programs are voluntary, those who need them most are least likely to opt in. Companies that automatically assign mentors or “buddies” to new hires—and that invest in training mentors, not just naming them—see gains in productivity and retention. Leaders should also recognize and reward the employees who do the invisible work of facilitating these connections.
4. Invest in community “bridge builders”. Public-private partnerships can support organizations—youth clubs, faith-based programs, community colleges, libraries—that connect young people from lower-income backgrounds to professionals in other walks of life. Chetty’s research shows that regions with more cross-class ties enjoy greater economic mobility. Policy can make it easier for those ties to form, whether through mixed-income schools and housing, better transportation to extracurriculars, or deliberate cross-community programs.
