BT and Lloyds TSB are leading the way in tackling race equality in the workplace, according to the second benchmark study of race and diversity in corporate Britain. Based on results from 99 of the 180 Race for Opportunity members, the results show:
only 44 individuals from minority ethnic communities hold posts at the most senior level, out of the 2.75m people employed in respondent organisations;
3.4% of senior managers come from minority ethnic communities, with 4.1% overall in management, compared to 8.4% in their total workforces; only 18 FTSE100 companies participated in the survey;
86% of respondents can, however, name a board-level champion and 78% can provide data on ethnic composition, up from just 19% in 2001.
Published on July 20, the report, Race: Creating Business Value, says the race equality agenda should extend beyond employment to include marketing and community involvement: encouragingly one in three respondents (36%) claim their race strategies have had a measurable impact on the bottom line, in terms of customers and market share. Contact Julia Joseph, RfO, on 020 7566 8707 (http://www.raceforopportunity.org.uk)
Disability does not feature on the radar screens of most leading UK and global companies, according to the Employers’ Forum on Disability. Only six out of fifty including any reference in their CSR strategies to an issue which affects 8.6m people in the UK, research by EFD finds. With support from Unum Provident, the Forum published its new Global inclusion benchmark on July 9, based on a scrutiny of social reports. BT, The Co-operative Bank and B&Q are ranked highest in addressing 13 key points that the Forum has identified as indicators of a truly inclusive organisation.
Cable & Wireless is sponsoring the next stage of the research to promote publication on disability information on web sites, while a third stage will encourage global standard-setters and rating agencies to include disability as an assessment criterion. Meanwhile, HSBC is supporting a new booklet from the Forum, What about Disability?, to help small businesses understand the needs of employees and customers with disabilities. Contact Diane Simonelli, EFD, on 020 7089 2480 (http://www.employersforum. co.uk)
Procter & Gamble, BT and Cadbury Schweppes provide examples of how diversity in the workplace can deliver significant business benefits, in a new report published by the Cabinet Office with support from Barclays on July 12. Based on a survey of 140 leading public and private organisations, The Business of Diversity says eight out of ten believe there is a link between good diversity practice and overall business performance. Benefits cited include better recruitment, increased retention, improved understanding of markets and communities, an enhanced reputation and cost savings.
Other recent reports advocating the business case for workforce diversity include:
Full and fulfilling employment, published on July 11 by the DTI, which cites diversity and choice as key government principles for future labour market policy, alongside full employment and increased productivity;
Ethnic minority employment through partnership, published on July 4 by the Centre for Diversity and Business, which analyses 16 case studies of good practice from France, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK and identifies success strategies.
Women hold fewer than one in 15 (6.2%) of the highest positions in America’s Fortune 500 companies and account for just one in 25 (4.1%) of all top earners. A study published on June 18 by Catalyst and the Conference Board, to coincide with a Berlin conference on women and business leadership, finds similar barriers exist in most countries, based on interviews with 700 senior managers in 20 European countries.
Meanwhile the UK public appointments commissioner reported on July 17 that four in ten public posts are filled by women candidates, a figure that has remained unchanged for the past five years. The proportion held by people from minority ethnic communities has also remained unchanged, at fewer than one in ten. Contact Sonia Ossorio, Catalyst, on 00 1 212 514 7600 (http://www.catalystwomen.org); Wendy Simpson-Brown, Public Appointments Commission, on 020 7276 2603 (http://www.womenandequalityunit.gov.uk)
Nationwide is improving its maternity policy, increasing full maternity pay by nine to ten weeks and unpaid maternity leave from 40 weeks to a year, and paying a bonus of £200 on return to work rather than between the 17th and 25th week of pregnancy. More than three quarters of the building society’s 15,000 employees are female, and it hopes the changes will help reduce staff turnover by 0.5% to 8.5% by the end of the year. Contact Melanie Fyans, Nationwide, on 01793 655 107 (http://www.nationwide.co.uk) Women in the UK earn less than half as much as men: the weekly average income for women during 2000/01 was £133, compared to £271 for men. Slightly less than 70% of the total family income of couples came from the individual income of men. Contact Di Lewis, Department for Work and Pensions, on 020 7712 2171 (http://www.womenandequalityunit.gov.uk)
British Airways and Tesco are among the 223 organisations taking advantage of this year’s round of government funding to promote better work-life balance. The Challenge Fund allocations for 2002, announced on June 11, will provide £4.8 million to fund work-life balance consultancy. Contact Jonathan Prior, DTI, on 020 7215 5000 (http://www.dti.gov.uk)
Comment
Five years after Race for Opportunity began and 20 years after Britain’s first modern race riots in Brixton, what do we have to show for corporate engagement on race? At best view, a dismal picture; in truth, an absolute scandal. At a time when BitC is trumpeting having three quarters of the FTSE100 as members, how can just 18 be engaged in the benchmark survey?
Well-meaning HR directors will argue it’s all a question of supply – we’ll appoint only if enough good candidates apply. Many black people themselves will say it’s about demand – no point applying, as they’ll always appoint someone with more experience or we’ll be filtered out during initial screening in favour of safer candidates with a better fit on factors like what school or college you go to.
This log-jam can only be broken by deliberate action. In multi-cultural Britain, surely no company can claim to be socially responsible if it does not have an active programme in this area. Seek outside help from an intermediary agency to develop the supply and unblock hidden demand barriers. Project Fullemploy, for example, has a well-established matching programme for entry level jobs and has just launched a recruitment agency for senior positions. Nurture internal talent too, and seek ‘quick wins’ to achieve visible change. Join partnerships, especially those working on root causes such as low expectations at school. Review work experience schemes to ensure they explicitly include disadvantaged groups.
And celebrate success. On which note, well done Centrica for winning the new Realising Ability award for excellence this summer, along with runner-up Lloyds TSB. Except that was for schemes to assist people with a disability. The award for diversity could not be given: no applicant met the necessary standard.
COMMENT:
New benchmark studies show few companies are making progress on racial diversity.
Disability, gender and age are better, but not by much. Yet government, business and intermediaries continue to champion the business case.
Five years after Race for Opportunity began and 20 years after Britain’s first modern race riots in Brixton, what do we have to show for corporate engagement on race? At best view, a dismal picture; in truth, an absolute scandal. At a time when BitC is trumpeting having three quarters of the FTSE100 as members, how can just 18 be engaged in the benchmark survey?
Well-meaning HR directors will argue it’s all a question of supply – we’ll appoint only if enough good candidates apply. Many black people themselves will say it’s about demand – no point applying, as they’ll always appoint someone with more experience or we’ll be filtered out during initial screening in favour of safer candidates with a better fit on factors like what school or college you go to.
This log-jam can only be broken by deliberate action. In multi-cultural Britain, surely no company can claim to be socially responsible if it does not have an active programme in this area. Seek outside help from an intermediary agency to develop the supply and unblock hidden demand barriers. Project Fullemploy, for example, has a well-established matching programme for entry level jobs and has just launched a recruitment agency for senior positions. Nurture internal talent too, and seek ‘quick wins’ to achieve visible change. Join partnerships, especially those working on root causes such as low expectations at school. Review work experience schemes to ensure they explicitly include disadvantaged groups.
And celebrate success. On which note, well done Centrica for winning the new Realising Ability award for excellence this summer, along with runner-up Lloyds TSB. Except that was for schemes to assist people with a disability. The award for diversity could not be given: no applicant met the necessary standard.
COMMENTS