Almost one fifth of mid-sized British businesses have not improved the ethnic diversity of their boards, according to the government-backed Parker review.
While many listed firms have taken strides to meet voluntary targets, the new report reveals that 46 FTSE 250 companies—facing a December deadline to appoint at least one non-white director—either missed the goal or did not respond to the survey.
David Tyler, former J Sainsbury chairman and chair of the Parker review committee, noted that certain companies with primarily investment trust structures, and therefore fewer board roles, were among the worst performers. He said that overall progress was “very much moving in the right direction,” though five FTSE 100 businesses still have no ethnic minority representation in their boardrooms, up from four in the previous review. These include Hargreaves Lansdown and Persimmon; however, Persimmon recently appointed Anand Aithal as a non-executive director to replace Shirine Khoury-Haq.
The Parker review was originally launched under Sir John Parker in 2015 to set diversity targets in top-tier British businesses and tackle issues such as groupthink. Since its inception, over half of FTSE 100 boards have improved from an all-white composition to include at least one non-white director.
Private companies have fared worse than their publicly listed counterparts, with 26 high-revenue firms either failing to improve diversity or not responding at all. Across the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250, ethnic minorities make up 11 per cent and 9 per cent of UK-based senior management, respectively—short of the 17 per cent figure for the broader population of England and Wales.
Last year, the scope of the review broadened, prompting FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 companies to set their own 2027 goals for diverse senior leadership teams. So far, FTSE 100 businesses have aimed for an average 15 per cent representation, while FTSE 250 companies have set a 13 per cent target. Tyler said these figures may rise over time as firms become more comfortable aiming closer to the UK’s overall demographic makeup.
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UK mid-sized firms lag in boosting ethnic diversity on boards
