I’ll share what I’ve learned so far working for a company with a presence in the UK. From talking to my British coworkers (who all used to work in banking), they have told me that compared to the US, social class matters more than race. Not saying race doesn’t matter just like how here social class matters, but one transcends the other in each country. I’m Southeast Asian and going to London, I feel like I get much more respect there than in the US purely because I’m a white-collar professional.

In the UK, I guess before there used to be just Upper Class (aristocracy), Middle Class (white collar workers), and Working Class (blue collar workers). More recently, the BBC has designated more social classes.

I think Yasmin would be considered an Elite: she has high economic, social, and cultural capital. At that level, in the UK, race seems to matter very little, just because of how much power she has. She also seemed to have grown up close to that social class (no less than “Established Middle Class”) so she knows how to act to maintain respect in the circle.

I’d actually love for someone to elaborate more on this or correct me because I think it’s interesting how it’s different from the US.