Race row over 2022 Games representation
Critics hit out as just 18% of recruits are from ethnic minorities
THE organisation behind next year’s Commonwealth Games, still “fails to come close to reflecting the black, Asian and other minority ethnic roots of over half the city,” activists claim.
They say positive work on boosting diversity representation on the Birmingham 2022 Board has not filtered into recruitment, with fewer than one in five (or 18 per cent) of the people employed so far by the Games coming from ethnic diverse backgrounds – despite making up nearly half of the local population.
Only a small proportion of managers (seven per cent) are of black or Asian origin.
The city’s new Birmingham Race Impact Group (BRIG) says it demonstrates there is ‘‘a huge challenge ahead’’ for the city’s most prominent public, private and voluntary organisations in the battle for true equality.
But the Games team has defended its recruitment record, saying the top priority of its inclusion and diversity strategy was to “develop a workforce reflective of the West Midlands”.
Head of equality, diversity and inclusion at Birmingham 2022, Donna Fraser, said: “We are constantly looking for ambitious people who meet the criteria of the available roles who can be a part of delivering something spectacular for the region,”
The BRIG group, formed in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests last summer, is campaigning for prominent organisations to make written pledges on diversity in recruitment within three years.
Jagwant Johal, who represents the group, praised Birmingham 2022’s swift response to complaints last year about a lack of diversity in its leadership but says the question is whether it has triggered change within the whole organisation.
“And are Birmingham’s black, Asian and minority-led businesses benefiting (from contracts linked to the Games), or are these communities just going to end up being recruited to the volunteering programmes while the remunerated jobs go elsewhere?” he said.
Donna Fraser said: “We are constantly recruiting so our workforce is changing all the time.
“We’ve been making improvements to the way that we attract talent and bring them into the team, ensuring that we share job opportunities with as many people as possible from across the city.
“One example of how we are doing this is by using dedicated job boards, media, and websites that target people from underrepresented groups.
“We have nine months left to the Games so we are constantly looking for ambitious people who meet the criteria of the available roles who can be a part of delivering something spectacular for the region.”