Business ‘must break its silence’ on diversity

REPORT: Too few executive roles for staff from minority ethnic groups, says Dundee academic

Employers are being urged to learn from the gender agenda in order to make progress on black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) diversity in the workplace.

The new Delivering Diversity report commissioned by the British Academy of Management and the Chartered Management Institute has found that just 6% of management roles in the UK are filled by candidates from a minority background, despite BAME groups making up 12% of the working-age population.

Pavita Cooper, chairwoman of the Delivering Diversity research advisory board and founder of More Difference, said headway had been made in the gender diversity arena in recent years but progress was “much less tangible” when it came to issues of race and ethnicity within workplaces.

“It’s resoundingly clear that we have to reboot the conversation about race and ethnicity,” Ms Cooper said.

“Business leaders need to set the tone and work with managers throughout the line to reshape business cultures.

“While this research focused on FTSE 100 companies, its findings are not relevant only to those businesses, important as they are to the health of UK plc.

“Its insights and recommendations for action point the way forward managers in any organisation.”

Part of the research was carried out at Dundee and St Andrews universities.

It is estimated that full BAME representation across the UK labour market would be worth £24 billion per annum, but just over half of senior leaders within the FTSE 100 blue chip share index actively championed BAME diversity.

Professor Nic Beech, vice-principal at Dundee University and co-author of the report, said: “Our report shows that in the area of black, Asian and minority ethnic leadership the UK’s leading companies have a long way to go.

“Companies need to have diverse, adaptive cultures which allow them to think differently, innovate and connect to a wide range of customers.

“However, relatively few are leading the way in developing BAME people in their management population pipelines.”

Among the companies that contributed to the report were Virgin Money, RBS, Lloyds Banking Group, Google, insurer Aviva and grocer Sainsbury’s. for

In total, the research recommends seven steps to improve the situation.

They include breaking the silence over BAME issues, learning from the gender debate, active measuring of diversity within workplaces, being inclusive and adaptive and involving established leaders within an organisation in the mentoring of new talent coming through.

“This project is unique in that it was led by a team of the UK’s leading equality and diversity scholars,” Professor Nelarine Cornelius, co-author of the report and researcher at Queen Mary University of London, said.

“Critically, it was supported by insights from senior managers at leading FTSE companies.

“The research is an important step in the development of new and more robust ways of understanding the barriers to progression BAME managers face and the positive steps that organisations need to take to create a fairer and more inclusive environment.

“The simple message is that progress to date is not nearly good enough.”

Pavita Cooper, chairwoman of the Delivering Diversity research advisory board, and report co-author Professor Nic Beech of Dundee University.