'People from ethnic minority doubles in top public roles in UK'

REPRESENTATION of minority ethnic communities in prominent public roles in Britain has more than doubled in the past four years, a report released on Monday (26) said, adding that the biggest increase in numbers is recorded in Asian men.

As per data collated by Operation Black Vote (OBV), there were 73 black, Asian, and minority ethnic (BAME) faces in the UK’s top political, public, cultural and media sectors as of July 23, 2021, which is more than twice the 36 public figures found by the same campaigners in 2017. 

The list of 1,100 powerful figures shows 6.3 per cent of names are from ethnic minorities, with 19 (1.6 per cent) are BAME women. Asian men have seen the biggest increase in top public roles, the report said.

This is a stark difference to 2017 when OBV found that barely 3 per cent of Britain’s most powerful and influential people were from minority ethnic groups which highlighted a disconnect with the composition of the UK population.

About 14 per cent of the UK’s population is from a BAME background, according to figures from Diversity UK.

Even if the trend is positive, “the struggle continues”, says OBV.

As per OBV, the greatest shift has been in politics, which has seen “significant and positive changes" from both Labour and the Conservatives. Prime minister Boris Johnson has appointed a record number of BAME cabinet members (6) and ministers (7), pointed out the report, adding that Labour also boasts a record number of BAME Mayors (4) and Council leaders (11).

Other changes were seen in areas such as Vice Chancellors (6), NHS trusts (3), Consultancy firms (3) and Trade Unions (2).

However, in many other areas, the situation remained stagnant. Police, judiciary and security services continue to have a complete absence of non-white leaders at the top, the report suggested.

OBV COO and Colour of Power coordinator Ashok Viswanathan said that OBV has seen significant change since the 2017 poll but there was still work to be done as the new figures were still only a 50 per cent reflection of modern society.

“Regretfully there are some institutions that are still solely white and largely male four years on and after the summer of Black Lives Matter. The struggle continues,” he added.

The data analysis by OBV completed in July looked at the ethnicity of more than 1,100 individuals across 39 categories covering politics and the civil service; policing, defence and the judiciary; FTSE companies and groups representing business; professional services including the heads of law, accountancy, advertising, consulting and publishing firms; arts bodies; media; trade unions; top universities; sporting bodies and NHS trusts.