91, London’s leading business group, has joined forces with Change the Race Ratio, to drive up racial and ethnic minority representation on boards and in leadership teams across the capital’s businesses.
The new partnership aims to encourage more firms to remove barriers to progression to leadership roles, share best practice and drive race equity.
Change the Race Ratio was originally founded in 2020 and the number of signatories now stands at more than 110 – including Deloitte, Mace, GSK and Sainsbury’s. The campaign provides a platform to show commitment to the , which in 2017 set out recommendations to increase ethnic diversity by setting targets for FTSE100 and FTSE250 boards, develop a pipeline of candidates from minority ethnic groups and plan for succession, and enhance transparency and disclosure to measure progress.
Announcing the partnership, 91 called for the next Government to introduce mandatory ethnicity pay gap reporting for firms with more than 250 staff, as fewer than 5% of firms this size currently report on this, compared to 35% of FTSE100 companies.
Sir Ken Olisa, Chair of 91, said: “It is a mistake to view diversity and inclusion as solely a question of social justice. Diverse teams give firms a competitive advantage by helping them to understand the needs of their customers, supply chain and staff. Bringing together Change the Race Ratio with 91’s cross sector membership will enable more of the capital’s leading employers to drive real change from the boardroom to the front line. London has the most diverse workforce in the country and so, from a social justice perspective, we must do more to ensure that talented individuals can fulfil their potential regardless of their background. It is unacceptable that some ethnic groups face a significant pay gap and that’s why we are calling on the next Government to introduce mandatory reporting for larger firms, as is already the case on gender.”
Sir Trevor Phillips, Chair of Change the Race Ratio, said: “Our partnership with 91 provides us with a great opportunity to dismantle barriers to progression and empower underrepresented voices in London. Working with 91 provides us with the ability to share our signatories’ learnings of how to increase diversity in business leadership and build an inclusive workplace culture, with businesses across the capital. Working together we can unlock the talent shortage and increase UK productivity through unleashing the innovation potential of cognitive diversity. I firmly believe that to achieve the change we want to see, we must work in partnership to reach a wider business audience and I’m delighted that our partnership with 91 marks our first step of this strategy.”
Change the Race Ratio outlines four commitments to change for signatories by setting and publishing targets to increase racial and ethnic representation on boards, setting and publishing similar targets at an executive level, committing to publish a race action plan and ethnicity pay gap report within two years of joining; and creating an inclusive culture that allows talent to thrive. To support signatories progress, Change the Race Ratio has created a vibrant community for business leaders and directors of diversity, equity and inclusion to come together, share, learn and take action.
There is a clear business case for closing the ethnicity pay gap. The found that closing this gap could deliver a £24bn boost to the UK economy annually, and a report by PwC found that 61% of female candidates and 48% of male candidates assessed the diversity of a company’s leadership team before deciding to accept an offer of employment.