The number of black people leading the 100 largest firms in Britain has fallen to zero despite numerous commitments from government and business to address diversity at executive levels, new research has found.
For the first time in six years there are no black chief executives, chairs or chief financial officers at any of the firms listed on the FTSE 100. Cruise operator Carnival, which is run by a black chief executive Arnold Donald, dropped off the index last summer.
Figures published by Green Park also show that the number of black board members has also fallen since the consultancy agency’s first report into the diversity of FTSE leadership in 2014. This is despite a percentage increase in the number of directors from other minority backgrounds across the same period.
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The report also highlighted that prospects for increased black representation at executive level at top firms are slim, with numbers in the leadership pipeline down to less than 1%.
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Green park is chaired by Trevor Phillips, the former head of the Equality and Human Rights Commission. Mr Phillips said the reports findings put "flesh on the bones" of racial inequality issues raised last year by the Black Lives Matter movement.
Mr Phillips said: “We know there is no shortage of qualified candidates to fill these roles if companies are willing to look. Yet the snowy peaks of British business remain stubbornly white. We cannot go back to business as usual.
“It is time that shareholders, consumers and employees start questioning whether Black Lives Matter is just rhetoric rather than reality. Corporate leaders need to stop telling us how much they care and do something to show us that black lives really do matter.”
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Mr Phillips told the BBC’s Today programme that daunted by a “vanilla boys' club” at 海角视频 board level black people are moving to smaller companies or to American firms, where their prospects are more favourable.
Green Park released its findings in conjunction with the first ever Race Equality Week. The initiative sees organisations throughout the 海角视频 taking part in activities that address the barriers facing race equality in the workplace.
On Friday, Bristol’s black entrepreneurs will have the opportunity to highlight the challenges their businesses face at an event seeking to create better understanding of the inequalities in the city’s business landscape.
Following the success of its #IAMBOB campaign, BusinessLive will be launching a newsletter on Friday all about 海角视频 black-owned businesses.
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