Business campaign to boost minority executives
Businesses in the UK have announced plans to launch a campaign aimed at increasing the number of people from racial and ethnic minorities in senior leadership roles in companies.
- Increase racial and ethnic diversity among board members and set targets so that FTSE 100 companies will have at least one racially and ethnically diverse board member by the end of 2021. Among FTSE 250 companies, the target date will be 2024.
- Increase racial and ethnic diversity in senior leadership by publishing targets within 12 months to appoint minority executives.
- Be transparent on actions by publishing plans to achieve the required targets either in annual reports or on company websites Firms will also be required to disclose ethnicity pay gaps by 2022 at the latest.
- Create an inclusive culture in which talent from all diversities can thrive, focusing on recruitment and talent development processes, and on mentoring, support and sponsorship. Firms should work with a more diverse set of suppliers and partners, including minority-owned businesses.
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- Who are the world's best employers if you are LGBT?
- Speak out, be anti-racist
Richard Houston, senior partner and chief executive of Deloitte UK, added: “The energy of the Black Lives Matter movement has given a fresh sense of urgency around racial diversity in business. Change the Race Ratio aims to grasp this moment to create real and lasting change.”The Parker Review highlighted the fact that 75 per cent of FTSE 100 revenues were earned outside the UK and in markets that included nine countries expected to generate half of the world’s population growth between now and 2050. The report said that five of these nations were in Africa and three in Asia, and that a lack of diversity might inhibit a company’s ability to engage effectively with global markets.Hugh Milward, general manager of legal affairs at Microsoft UK, said: “We are on a journey to increasing diversity across Microsoft, and in particular at our most senior levels."But when more than a third of leading organisations still don't have any ethnic minority board representation, the pace of chance is too slow. Without commitment, there is no action and that's why Change the Race Ratio is so important to transforming the make-up of the UK's most influential businesses.”
Read more news and views from David Sapsted.
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