Leadership comes in many forms, and in 2015 it is often most interesting - and disruptive - when it comes from the fringes. Voices are growing louder every day on the need for action on black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) representation in Britain's boardrooms. It stands today where female representation stood 17 years ago - in 1998 - according to the Spencer Stuart 2015 U.K. Board Index, just out.
Having focused hard on increasing gender diversity in the boardroom for the last four years with some success, the U.K. Government’s stated intention of late is to encourage more ethnic diversity in the boardroom. In response, for the first time this index, a review of governance practic by executive search and leadership firm Spencer Stuart has looked at the number of black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) board members in the top 150 FTSE companies.
It finds that only 78 directors, or 5% across the entire FTSE 150, have a BAME background. Excluding companies based in emerging markets, that number comes down to 58 directors (3.9%). Only 1.9% of directors with U.K. nationality have a BAME background.
Board diversity metrics: Spencer Stuart 2015 U.K. Board Index - a review of governance practice in... [+]
There has been some progress on diversity: Spencer Stuart makes the point that there have never been more women at the helm of FTSE 150 boards. Seven female chairmen leading the U.K’.s largest companies’ boards represents an increase of 350% compared with 2013, when there were only two female chairmen. If the current rate were to continue, it says, there would be 25 female chairmen in the FTSE 150 by 2017.
But as Manjit Wolstenholme, chairman of Provident Financial, says: “Of course it represents real progress that I am now one of a growing number of women chairing the boards of some of the U.K.’s biggest companies, but we are certainly not in a position to say – ‘job done’. We urgently need many more women and black and ethnic minorities at the top if our boards are to reflect the diversity of our workforce and our customers.”
As the latest index reveals, to date the U.K.'s boardrooms have largely looked abroad for their BAME diversity.
“Real effort will be needed to make British boardrooms truly diverse because the future corporate pipeline of female board directors as a whole is limited. Perhaps we shouldn't be surprised that U.K. boards are having to look overseas for talented female directors, with non-British directors accounting for 41% of all women on boards, compared to 33% of men on boards. Appointing women from abroad has clear benefits from a diversity perspective" says Will Dawkins, who leads the Spencer Stuart U.K. Board Practice.
But he adds: "These figures indicate both the importance of international talent to the U.K. economy, and that boards are casting a wider net. But the findings are also cause for concern if boards are increasingly looking beyond these shores to find women with requisite experience.”
It is worth noting that this index looks only at the largest listed companies in the FTSE index - the number of BAME faces in the boardrooms of smaller companies is almost certainly negligible - yet arguably it is the smaller companies which are truer reflections of national culture.
Britain is justifiably proud of its creative industries, for which it is world famous. But a report just published by Directors U.K. has highlighted the significant under-employment and under-representation of BAME directors in U.K. television production.
The report, ‘U.K. Television - Adjusting The Colour Balance. BAME Directors Working in U.K. Television Production’ is the result of research into the current employment rate of BAME directors across all program genres in U.K. television. It found that only 1.5% of programs were made by a BAME director, while BAME directors make up just 3.5% of the directing community.
This is staggering: "The research also found that BAME directors are being given a far smaller proportion of directing opportunities in many key program genres than their white counterparts. Some of the most popular drama, comedy and entertainment shows in our sample had never been made by a director who is BAME, including all programes within Period Drama, Chat shows, Game shows, Performance, Reality, Panel shows, Sketch shows, Children’s Comedy and Children’s Entertainment."
“Our report findings are both shocking and concerning. It reveals what many of us in the industry have been aware of for some time, but now we have hard evidence to show just how serious the lack of diversity in television really is for directors" said Menhaj Huda, Diversity Chair at Directors U.K.
"Sustaining a career for any director is difficult enough as it is, but when the perception of BAME directors is that they are less able, less experienced and less competent then it becomes virtually impossible, regardless of talent. Our report shows that getting work in television is inaccessible for far too many and there is a failure to provide any kind of support for BAME talent" he added.
The lack of BAME members at senior, and board levels of the creative industries are surely to blame here, showing just how insidious this lack of representation could become.
As Mr Huda puts it so eloquently: "We are talking about British directors from BAME backgrounds whose experiences growing up in this country offer a different take on story-telling, a different perspective, but a voice that is valid which is effectively being shut out. It’s great that the industry is talking about the issue of diversity but discussion does not equal action. Until the process of selecting and hiring directors becomes more transparent and accountable, we will not achieve the improvements we all want to see.”
It is not just about token numbers - the faces in the boardroom should reflect the society they serve in order to foster social cohesion and harmony.
