The Telegraph: Big companies need to appoint a Chief Diversity Officer

As the tiers of company hierarchy ascend, leaders become increasingly white and male. These are the findings of Green Park’s Leadership 10,000, a review of the gender and ethnocultural diversity of the most senior positions in the FTSE 100.

Despite evidence tying diverse leadership teams to financial success, in the six years that Green Park have been conducting the survey, we have repeatedly found Britain’s largest companies to be falling short of the progress necessary to reach Government-backed targets.

Since 2014,  there has been an increase in the number of senior women at Board and Executive Committee level, however, there is still a clear reluctance to put females at the heart of decision making, with women more likely to sit in non-executive roles.

In the case of black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) diversity, we found that 47 of the top 100 FTSE companies were led by an all-white Board Executive Team. These disheartening figures and lack of visible diversity negatively affect the talent pipeline by sending out a clear message to young professionals from minority groups that they cannot aspire to the top positions. Consequently, young BAME professionals are leaving  the UK to find success in the EMEA. We are driving out minority talent.

However, steps can be taken to move the dial and create real and valuable change and these should include, appointing a Chief Diversity Officer who is well-resourced and accountable.

The above is a summary of an article published in The Telegraph on 4/12/19. For the full Telegraph article, please click here.