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There is a significant lack of racial diversity at the top of UK organisations. This is unacceptable in 2017. Addressing racial equality is a societal issue, a moral issue, and a business issue. It must be a priority for business.

Everyone should have equal access to work and opportunity to reach their potential, regardless of identity, background or circumstance. For too long the need for change has been recognised but not acted on, and although we have seen some shift in board composition, we haven’t seen it in practice to the extent or at the pace required. There’s been notable progress on gender, albeit only over the last seven years, and we need to build on the successes of campaigns that have increased female representation at the top of organisations to now make significant strides with ethnic diversity.

As well as there being an undeniable moral case for change, the diversity of ideas, perspective and ways of working afforded by people of different backgrounds and identities will benefit individuals, organisations, society and the economy. In addition, we’re already seeing changing population demographics in terms of ethnicity, age and other personal characteristics, which means the employers already taking action will be on the front foot in being able to attract talent from a wider talent pool.

Around 14% of the UK workingage population come from a black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) background, and by 2030, it is expected that the proportion will be closer to 20%. Without action to develop inclusive workplace cultures where people with a diverse range of identities and backgrounds feel able to perform at their best and progress in their organisation, we face an underutilisation of talent through not enabling everyone to achieve their potential. And we should be further spurred on by the potential for change at a workplace level to influence wider societal change. Given it’s the leadership at the top of an organisation who are the main influence on its culture, values and ethics, if they’re not a diverse group, what message does that send out to employees, customers and wider society?

High-profile government-initiated work has set the stimulus for action on racial diversity, and at the CIPD we believe we have a role to play in influencing and supporting employers to drive sustainable change in their organisations. The HR profession has a central role in making this change happen, being ideally placed to challenge and address people management practice at all stages of the employee lifecycle to ensure it is built on the fundamental principles of trust, equality, fairness and inclusion.

We recognise that employers may be uncertain about where to start, especially smaller organisations without an HR function or people management professional to provide insight and guidance. This isn’t an excuse to not do anything or to shy away from conversations about race – instead, it’s a signal to industry bodies, including the CIPD, to be providing additional insight, support and guidance for employers and sharing learning from organisations who are already on the front foot, examining barriers to access and progression within their business context. This report makes three distinct contributions to driving change.

First, we provide an overview of some of the major research and policy papers over the past five years, bringing together in one place what we know about the extent of ethnic inequality and what we know so far about where the barriers to in-work progression lie.

Second, we present the results from our new survey research into the career blockers and enablers experienced by workers from different ethnic groups. In this report we present the findings from the survey of 1,290 UK employees, 700 from a BAME background and 590 white British. We compare the working experiences of BAME and white British employees working in the UK as well as comparing how views on working life differ for Asian, black and mixed-race employees. In the survey we asked questions about the workrelated factors affecting career progression, the employee’s relationship with their line manager (given their significant influence on career progression), development opportunities people feel they have, satisfaction with career progression to date, and the overall culture of the organisation.

Third, we include case study examples of practice from three organisations that are actively driving change and identifying and removing barriers to access and progression for ethnic minority groups. Some of the practices they’ve adopted include seniorlevel sponsorship and commitment to change, mentoring, unconscious bias training, reviewing recruitment approaches and examining what their HR data is saying about the work experiences of their BAME employees to inform evidencebased decision-making. We hope the further insight in this report will help employers to take action and create more inclusive workplaces which attract diverse talent and enable that talent to work together effectively, for the benefit of individuals, the business and wider society.

Key findings

Factors influencing career achievement to date

• Significantly more BAME employees said career progression is an important part of their working life than those from a white British background.

• However, BAME employees are more likely than white British employees to say their career progression to date has failed to meet their expectations.

• BAME employees are more likely than those from a white British background to say that experiencing discrimination is a problem.

• Indian/Pakistani/Bangladeshi employees said a lack of role models and ‘people like me’ is a progression barrier.

Development opportunities

• BAME employees are significantly more likely to say your identity or background can have an effect on the opportunities you’re given than white British employees, particularly those from an Indian/Pakistani/Bangladeshi background.

• BAME employees aged 18 to 34 are more likely to agree that everyone has the opportunity to achieve their potential at work, no matter your identity or background, than those over 45.

• Just 48% of BAME and 44% of white British employees said they are satisfied with the training they receive in their current organisation.

• A low four out of ten of both BAME (40%) and white British (38%) employees said they are satisfied with their career progression prospects in their current organisation.

Ambition

• Employees from Indian/ Pakistani/Bangladeshi and mixed-race backgrounds are more likely than white British employees to say having a mentor would help kick-start their career.

• People from Indian/Pakistani/ Bangladeshi or black backgrounds are more likely than white British staff to say more transparent career paths would help career advancement.

• All BAME employees, regardless of ethnicity, are significantly more likely than white British employees to say that seeing other people like them who have progressed in the organisation would help boost their careers.

• Indian/Pakistani/Bangladeshi employees are most likely to say status and pay and benefits are an important aspect of working life and are most likely to say they are willing to work harder than they have to in order to help the organisation succeed.

Job satisfaction

• Around 60% of employees from both groups say they are satisfied with their current job.

• Both BAME and white British employees working for large organisations are more likely to say they’re dissatisfied with their job than those working for SMEs.

• Overall, employees working in the public sector are more likely to say they are dissatisfied with this balance than those working in the private and voluntary sectors.

Organisation culture

• Three-fifths of both BAME and white British employees feel their organisation has an inclusive culture.

• BAME employees are significantly more likely than their white British counterparts to say they need to change aspects of their behaviour to fit in, particularly those from an Indian, Pakistani or Bangladeshi background. However, Chinese or other Asian are the least likely of all ethnic groups to say they need to do this.

• Almost half of BAME employees say they feel they need to censor how much they tell their colleagues about themselves and their personal life, significantly higher than the 37% of white British employees who feel this way.

• Although three-quarters of both BAME and white British employees feel their colleagues listen to their ideas and views, just 65% of Chinese and other Asian survey respondents feel that way;

Organisation support to help people achieve their potential

• Of those who said they take part in mentoring, significantly more BAME than white British employees say they have found it to be effective in helping them achieve their potential at work.

• A quarter of BAME respondents for whom mentoring is not currently available said it would be beneficial to them in their career (14% white British).

• Forty-five per cent of the BAME group say there are people more senior than them in their organisation with whom they identify and aspire to be like, compared with 34% of white British employees.

• Within the BAME group, employees from an Indian/ Pakistani/Bangladeshi background are most likely to say they have a role model at work and Chinese/other Asian employees the least likely.

Line manager support for career development

• A low level of line manager support for career development is an issue across the board, regardless of ethnicity.

• Around two-fifths say their line manager discusses their training and development needs with them.

• Only around half of employees across most ethnic groups feel able to talk to their manager about their career aspirations.

• Around a third of both BAME and white British employees feel their manager makes assumptions about their career path and aspirations.

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