22.09.2020

Third of black employees feel ethnicity is barrier to career compared to one per cent of whites

Black employees have more ambition than their colleagues – but are still held back at work. This is the findings of the recently published Race at Work: The Black Voices Report, published by Business in the Community (BIC).

The report found that nearly three quarters (74 per cent) of black employees want to progress in their careers compared to only 42 per cent of white employees, yet 33 per cent of black employees feel their ethnicity will be a barrier to their next career move, compared to just 1 per cent of white employees.

The report presents new analysis on the largest survey on race ever carried out. According to the report, these never-before-seen figures are a stark demonstration of: “how far we must go to reach equality in our places of work and a reminder of how little companies know about the divide in their own workplace. We urgently need better, more comprehensive data about race inequality. To solve the problem, we must all understand it.”

The report is calling on the government to make it mandatory for all companies with more than 250 employees to report on their ethnicity pay gap – as it promised to do in 2018. Without a requirement to report on a consistent measure across sectors, companies do not understand the scale of the issue: as the research shows that only 11 per cent of companies are capturing their ethnicity pay gap data and only half of those are reporting on their pay gap voluntarily.

Recommended by Race in the workplace: The McGregor-Smith Review, mandatory ethnicity pay gap reporting measure would give companies the ability to address inequality in a consistent, meaningful way.

Race at Work: The Black Voices Report sets a number of actions that employers can take to support their black employees:

Senior leaders should actively sponsor black talent in their workplaces.
Employers must convene big conversations in the workplace, with active listening – and then make plans on agreed actions together with their black employees.
Sponsor, support and encourage their employees to participate in the Race at Work 2021 survey.
Set targets to increase the representation of black people at senior levels within their organisations.
Demonstrate a commitment to diverse supply chains as well as asking suppliers how they are doing the same; employers should ask their suppliers to demonstrate how they are including black enterprise and service providers within their supply chains.
Sign the Race at Work Charter.

Sandra Kerr CBE, race director at Business in the Community, said: “In a year which has seen the normal rules of business and government thrown out of the window and shown so clearly the full impact of race discrimination on black people’s lives and livelihoods, it is inconceivable that the government will not meet its 2018 promise.

"This issue goes beyond politics. COVID-19 has shown me that, when they work in partnership, the government and the private sector can achieve great things. Together, they can invest in ethnicity pay gap reporting and take a step towards a more equal society.”

Responding to the report, Peter Cheese, chief executive of the CIPD, the professional body for HR and people development, said: “The CIPD welcomes the analysis and insights in this report, which highlight how employers can address racial inequality in the workplace and some of the practical steps that will make a difference.

“We back the call for the introduction of mandatory ethnicity pay gap reporting, which is something the CIPD has also been advocating. And as a signatory of the Race at Work Charter, we will be highlighting its value to members and providing further detailed guidance ourselves on how to boost racial equality and combat discrimination and injustice.

“The report’s recommendations, such as the need for employers to set targets to increase the representation of black people at senior levels, the importance of allyship and the need for senior leaders to sponsor talented black employees, provide a template for meaningful change.”

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