PROGRESS towards ethnic diversity in British corporate leadership has ground to a halt, with new data exposing a worrying trend of minimal representation at top-level management.
An annual survey by Spencer Stuart headhunters found that out of 196 new directors appointed in the past year, merely seven – or four per cent – were from ethnic minority backgrounds. This marks a dramatic decline from last year's 15 per cent, bringing the total ethnic minority representation on boards to just 12.5 per cent, the Times reported.
According to the report, the seven include Ajay Kavan at Dunelm, the retailer, and Angela Jain at Unite Group, which runs student accommodation.
Shami Iqbal, UK managing partner at Spencer Stuart, expressed disappointment. "Diversity means having talent around the boardroom table representing a wide range of views and backgrounds," Iqbal said, warning against a "one and done" approach to inclusive hiring.
The findings follow a 2015 review by Sir John Parker, which set targets for FTSE 100 companies to include at least one ethnic minority director by December 2021. While 96 FTSE 100 companies have met this goal, progress appears to have stagnated.
The survey unveiled another concerning trend: boardrooms are becoming increasingly older. Over 90 per cent of non-executive directors are now aged over 50, with newly appointed directors under 50 dropping from 12 per cent to just six per cent in the past year.
On a brighter note, gender diversity shows more promising developments. Seventy-one per cent of boards now report at least one woman in senior roles such as chair, chief executive, or financial director – a significant increase from 60 per cent last year.
However, challenges remain. Forty-three boards still have men occupying all top four leadership positions, and women hold both chair and chief executive roles on only three boards.
Legal & General, a major institutional investor, previously warned FTSE 100 companies with all-white boards that they would face voting opposition unless they diversified their leadership.
Chris Gaunt from Spencer Stuart noted a particular trend of appointing women as senior independent directors, which he described as the "path of least resistance". Of the 40 women appointed to senior board roles, 67 per cent were placed in this position.
Bobby Bawa