Despite genuine efforts in corporate Britain to improve the boardroom diversity, the number of white men in ‘top 40’ positions in FTSE 100 companies is actually increasing.
This is one of the findings of Green Park’s latest analysis of boardroom diversity and inclusion in the UK’s top companies, which found that while boardroom diversity was improving at the UK’s top firms, women and ethnic minorities were being sidelined.
The executive recruitment specialist, which first carried out its research in 2014, also found that that female and ethnic minority leaders are largely consigned to functions such as HR, diversity and marketing and communications. They command less influence, have lower salaries and are less likely to be on track to C-Suite roles, according to the report.
The next stage of this is to make sure we don’t just have multicoloured puppets at the table or that the board table has a few people in skirts around at the bottom” – Trevor Phillips, Green Park
Indeed, as reported by Personnel Today in February, the top three roles in FTSE 100 organisations – CEO, CFO and chair – were found for the first time to include no black leaders. Eleven people from other ethnic minorities filled these roles, representing just 3.5%.
This is only one more ethnic minority individual since its analysis began in 2014, meaning it would take 216 years for ethnic minorities to be proportionately represented (13%) at top three level.
With the number of female leaders in the top 40 pipeline stagnating between 2018 and 2019, the last two years have seen a concerning decline in gender diversity, with female representation falling from 28.9% in 2019 to 28% in 2021. Eight of the 14 sectors analysed saw decreases in their gender diversity at pipeline level since 2019. Consumer goods (31%), technology (27.2%) and industrials (13.9%) are all now less diverse than they were in 2014.
White males accounted for 65.8% of top 40 roles, up from 63.8% in 2019, while in top 20 roles they comprised 90.4%, down from 93.8% in 2019.
Lord Karan Bilimoria, chair and founder of Change the Race Ratio and CBI president, said: “We must transform words and promises into action and results. We as business leaders must do more to improve the diversity of our boards and leadership teams. What I hear from my conversations with chairs and CEOs is a clear desire to make progress and an openness to embracing new thinking that’s needed to deliver change.”
He added: “We must all do better in listening to colleagues from underrepresented groups and challenge behaviours that create barriers for talent to progress.”
Trevor Phillips, chair of Green Park, told The Times: “The next stage of this is to make sure we don’t just have multicoloured puppets at the table or that the board table has a few people in skirts around at the bottom of the table. We need to make sure that the decision-making that matters is truly diverse. And we’re not anywhere near there right now. Though women and minorities are getting into the room, they don’t have any votes when the decisions are taken.”
The report highlighted that at the top 40 pipeline level, some functions are dominated by one particular gender or ethnicity. It found that, ironically, 85.4% of diversity and inclusion leadership roles at FTSE100 companies are held by women; 62.5% of D&I leaders are white women, with ethnic minority females the second most represented group at 22.9%.
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Ethnic minority males are the least represented in this function at 6.3%. HR is also predominantly a white female enclave at 55%, while white men dominate in digital, data and technology (76%), governance and operations (73%), commercial and procurement (71%) and finance (69%) – all much more direct routes to the top.
Phillips said it was telling that white men rarely held senior D&I jobs. “Why? Because nobody thinks it matters very much. So that’s a good place for the women and for the minorities to go, where they can earn quite a lot of money and they can call themselves ‘chief-somethings’.”
Pavita Cooper, deputy chair of the 30% Club, said: “The index once again demonstrates the urgent need for the private sector to get serious about inclusion. It is simply not right to be marginalising women and racially and ethnically diverse groups – something I have experienced first-hand during my career.
“A lot has been said about the need to build back better. Now’s the time for companies to take action to become truly inclusive. Those that do will reap the benefits – from their customers, their staff and their investors.”
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