British business at risk of widening ‘diversity deficit’

New research into the top 10,000 executives in Britain’s most important firms reveals a widening “diversity deficit” which risks putting UK companies at a serious disadvantage in domestic and global markets.
 
The Green Park Leadership 10,000, Spring 2015 shows that the position of ethnic minorities in leadership roles within the FTSE 100 has declined over the past year. Despite an increased corporate focus on diversity, just under two thirds of FTSE Companies (62) now have an all-white Main Board (Executive and Non-Executive Directors), up from last year (61).

The research shows that there are still no senior East Asian or Chinese heritage Executive Directors on any Main Board in the FTSE 100, and in fact fewer than 60 people of East Asian or Chinese Heritage in the entire 10,000 in the study.
 
The decline in ethnic minority presence is more marked at the ‘pipeline’ Top 100 leadership level. This year’s study shows that the FTSE 100 has lost the equivalent of nearly 40 of its 480 non-white leaders at this level in the past 12 months, suggesting that the prospects for minority leadership at board level are decreasing rather than increasing.

Download the full report at: www.green-park.co.uk