MYFUTURE Education and Careers Guide 2021/22

Research by McKinsey showed that firms with the
lowest rates of both gender and ethnic diversity in their
executive teams were 27% less likely to be profitable.
27% more chance of failure.
“The time has come for a concerted campaign on racial
and ethnic participation in business leadership. Progress
has been painfully slow,” said Lord Bilimoria.
“We want to do for racial and ethnic diversity what the
30% Club has done so successfully for gender equality.
“A decade ago, the government review into women
on boards – led by my colleague in the House of
Lords, Lord Davies, set a target to increase female
representation at the top of industry – to 25%. Ten years
later, there’s only one FTSE 350 company that doesn’t
have a woman on their board.
“In fact today, 33% of FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 board
members are women. And we need to keep building
on this momentum to make sure that – one day soon –
boards are truly representative.” Bilimoria added.
THE HUMAN COST
Carolyn Fairbairn, the CBI’s first female director general,
has championed ethnic pay reporting.
She stated, “Building workplaces that have the best of
all of our talent, from all walks of life, has never been
more important. For the UK to globally compete for
people and skills, every business leader has a role to
play in convincing the quiet sceptics of the importance
of diversity and inclusion for UK recovery.”
Ethnic pay reporting will be modelled on the gender
gap rules. These require firms with more than 250
staff to calculate and publish the average salary
and bonus figures for men and women. The gender
statistics revealed that men are paid significantly more
than women, although the reasons why must also be
investigated in more detail.
Evidence suggests BAME employees are paid
substantially less well than their white British
equivalents. A study by the Resolution Foundation think
tank found they are missing out on £3.2 billion a year of
pay compared with white colleagues. The foundation
revealed the pay gap was as high as 17% for black male
graduates.
As Lord Bilimoria pointed out, “This isn’t just about
money, there’s a real human cost, and legacy of pain
here when people are discriminated against, because
of who they are, what they look like, or where they
come from. “Generations of lives lost. Hopes shattered.
Opportunities denied.”
“So when – eventually – the trials of this pandemic pass
and they will let none of us forget its greatest lesson:
that we are responsible for and beholden to, each other.”
CBI Director-General Tony Danker stated, “For me, this
is first and foremost a moral question. I have always
believed that companies are superb institutions in
helping people get in and on in life.
“But still too many people, because of their gender,
race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, background,
or circumstance, find themselves unfairly held back.
Their route barred, and talents ignored. I believe that
no-one should have to experience that.
“And I believe that business – among all institutions in
society – should be best placed to solve this problem.
We are fast, we work in teams, we help people fulfil
their potential.
“But it’s not just moral, it’s money!”, Danker added.
“However, you cut the data, diverse and inclusive firms
come out stronger and more agile. They have a better
talent proposition and a better customer offer. Diverse
companies capture all the prizes available.”
MEANINGFUL ACTION, CONCRETE CHANGE
Tony Danker continued, “What a year for this agenda.
First came shock; and then came shows of support. But
they’re only worth a dime if we now move rapidly to
meaningful action and concrete change. Change you
can see. Change you can measure. And change that
makes a material difference to people’s lives.
To achieve that, we can’t just speak about one aspect
of diversity and inclusion without also understanding
the importance of all others, and how they intersect to
make up someone’s experiences.”
Commenting on the impact of COVID, Matthew Fell,
the CBI’s Chief UK Policy Director, stated that the
pandemic not only triggered a global health crisis, a
global economic downturn but also a social awakening
moment, with different levels of severity impacting
different groups. “Without action, there is a danger
that the economic downturn will stall or even reverse
progress on diversity and inclusion.
“Women and people from an ethnic minority
background have been among the most affected by
the pandemic and the economic fallout. Given they
represent three-quarters of the part-time labour force,
women were hit hard when part-time jobs fell 70% in
the first eleven weeks of the pandemic, according to
the Institute of Fiscal Studies. Individuals from BAME
communities are more likely to work in occupations
with a higher risk of COVID-19 exposure, this includes
the health and social care workforce.
“There is also an economic impact – BAME workers
are over a third more likely than white workers to be in
temporary work or zero-hours contracts.”
However, Matthew Fell went on to state that he
was “incredibly proud, and humbled, by the huge
momentum we’ve seen so far (with the Change the
Race Ratio campaign). We have four asks we want
every business listening to consider in their own
companies.
“The current crisis has also provided the opportunity
to implement flexible working and mental health and
wellbeing policies on a grand scale. The way in which
employers engage with employees has changed.
According to the Employment Trends Survey, more
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