Calls For Top British Companies to Meet Diversity Targets By 2027

Monday 13th March, 2023

Some of Britain's largest listed and private companies have been called to hit diversity targets by 2027.

The Parker Review Committee was set up by government in 2015 and recommended ethnic diversity targets for the boards of Britain's largest companies.

It is part of wider efforts to have more women and people from modest social backgrounds in top corporate and financial roles.

The committee said that in 2022, 96 of the FTSE 100 companies met a target of at least one minority ethnic director on their boards, with 49 having more than one minority ethnic director, effectively meeting a goal it set in 2017.

Ethnic minorities now account for 190 of the 1,064 board positions at FTSE 100 companies, 31 as chairs or executive directors.

David Tyler, Chair of the Parker Review Committee, said: 

“Our latest data demonstrates that continuing progress is being made by FTSE 350 companies to bring ethnic minority directors on to their boards. The target we set in 2017, to have at least one ethnic minority director in every FTSE 100 boardroom, has effectively now been reached.

“We have long argued that companies benefit from ensuring that succession planning and management development plans include the development of ethnic minority executives. That’s why we are now asking each FTSE 350 company to set its own five-year target, for December 2027, for the percentage of senior management positions that will be occupied by ethnic minority executives. We believe this will benefit the companies and it will help to provide equal opportunities for people from minority ethnic communities.