Prime Minister Theresa May has announced the pioneering Race at Work Charter, a small step towards identifying and tackling barriers faced by the ethnic minorities in the workplace. Developed in partnership with Business in the Community (BITC), the charter sets out a number of principles and actions for businesses to commit to publicly. Quite many high-profile organisations like NHS England, Standard Life Aberdeen, Norton Rose Fulbright, Saatchi & Saatchi, KPMG, RBS, the civil service, WPP, EY, and the CIPD, have already signed up.
Also, financial services company Lloyds Banking Group, also among the Charter’s signatories, is the first FTSE 100 company to set a goal to increase the representation of ethnic minority employees at senior levels.
May said, “Every employee deserves the opportunity to progress and fulfill their potential in their chosen field, regardless of which background they are from, but too often ethnic minority employees feel they're hitting a brick wall when it comes to career progression. That's why I'm delighted to launch the race at work charter, which gives businesses a clear set of actions to work towards in helping to create greater opportunities for ethnic minority employees at work.” Along with the charter, the PM also launched a consultation on ethnicity pay reporting in response to the Race Disparity Audit's Ethnicity Facts and Figures website data.
In the first ever consultation of its kind, the government will invite employers to share their views on a mandatory approach to ethnicity pay reporting, since the number of organisations publishing information on the pay gap for people from different ethnic backgrounds voluntarily remains low.
May said, “One year on from publishing the Race Disparity Audit, the government is delivering on its promise to explain or change ethnic disparities in all areas of society, taking action to support young people into work with funding of £90 million from dormant bank accounts , and acting on the recommendations of the Lammy review including by increasing diversity within prison officer recruitment. Our focus is now on making sure the UK’s organisations, boardrooms and senior management teams are truly reflective of the workplaces they manage, and the measures we are taking today will help employers identify the actions needed to create a fairer and more diverse workforce.”
