Race at the Top is the most comprehensive picture of Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) representation in leadership in UK business today. It finds that there has been virtually no ethnicity change in top management positions in the five years between 2007 and 2012. Sadly, the pipeline does not give us hope for the future; the gap at management level has worryingly widened between 2007 and 2012.
In the UK today, one in 10 employed people are BAME, yet only one in 16 of top management positions and one in 13 management positions are held by BAME people. By 2051, one in five people in the UK will be from an ethnic minority background, representing a scale of consumer spending and political voting power that business and government alike cannot afford to ignore. The gap must not be allowed to widen further, but without action, little will change. This is about business sense, not moral pleading.
Race for Opportunity is calling for a government review into racial barriers in the workplace that is akin to the Lord Davies review into gender, and for two words – ‘and race’ – to be added to the UK Corporate Governance Code.
The report was published by Race for Opportunity in June 2014.
