The Halifax bank is to promote efforts to boost representation of ethnic
minority staff with a series of equal opportunities road-shows.
A similar initiative developed in 1999 saw the proportion of ethnic minority
appointments rise to half of the total in one area.
Equal opportunities roadshows last year led to the formation of a local
ethnic working party in the Bradford area with a remit to increase the ethnic
minority representation in its workforce and raise its profile within local
communities.
Jill Dawson, Halifax equal opportunities manager, said, "By training
staff from ethnic minority backgrounds to become the contact point for candidates
throughout the recruitment process, we recruited a higher percentage of
minority staff – and developed the skills of our existing staff."
Fifty per cent of the last round of appointments in the Bradford area came
from ethnic minority backgrounds.
