Increase in BME workplace progression “could give UK economy £24 billion boost each year”
Baroness Ruby McGregor-Smith CBE (pictured), the former CEO at Mitie Group plc, has urged larger employers to help drive the agenda for improved diversity and inclusion in the workplace. The UK economy could benefit to the tune of no less than £24 billion per annum if black and minority ethnic (BME) citizens progressed in the world of work at the same rate as their white counterparts, a Government-backed study has found.
The independent Baroness McGregor-Smith Review, which was published on Tuesday 28 February, finds that people from BME backgrounds are still being held back in the workplace because of the colour of their skin, in turn costing the UK economy the equivalent of 1.3% in GDP every year.
The Baroness McGregor-Smith Review also finds that employment rates for people from BME backgrounds are 12% lower than for their white counterparts (at 62.8%), with just 6% reaching top level management positions. People from BME backgrounds are also more likely to work in lower paid and lower skilled jobs despite being more likely to hold a degree, the report reveals.
In a series of recommendations, the Baroness McGregor-Smith Review calls for large-scale employers to “lead the way” in tackling barriers to BME progression, calling on those companies with more than 50 employees on the books to publish a breakdown of their workforce by race and pay band, draw up five-year aspirational diversity targets and nominate a Board member to deliver on those stated targets.