Businesses cannot be complacent when it comes to achieving true board diversity

The 2019 Female FTSE Board Report, published annually by the Cranfield School of Management, has shown that many companies are on track to meet the target of 33% of FTSE 100 board positions being occupied by women by 2020. However, only 11% of the women currently on FTSE 100 boards are from Black, Asian and other Minority Ethnic (BAME) backgrounds – highlighting the need for companies to “think intersectionally” and align the agendas of both gender diversity and ethnic representation in order to achieve true board diversity.

The 2019 Women to Watch supplement – published alongside the Female FTSE Board Report – highlights fifty leading female professionals from BAME backgrounds, showcasing the breadth of talented women suited to FTSE 350 board positions, who come from historically under-represented backgrounds in senior leadership.

Diversity beyond gender

At the launch of the Parker Review into the ethnic diversity of UK boards, Rt Hon Margot James, MP, stated that “it makes business sense to recruit directors from as broad a base as possible, across the demographic of the UK” (BEIS, 2017). In response, the Parker Review has advocated for greater ethnic representation in FTSE 350 listed firms. Furthermore, a Hampton-Alexander review has pointed to the significance of gender diversity in the pipeline of talent into the boardroom. The Women to Watch supplement aligns these agendas, challenging businesses to ‘go beyond the numbers’ and ‘think intersectionally’ – which means paying attention to diversity across, as well as within, diversity dimensions.

The fact that currently only 11% of women on FTSE 100 boards are from BAME backgrounds highlights that businesses cannot be complacent when it comes to both gender diversity and ethnic representation. Dr Doyin Atewologun, Director of the Gender, Leadership and Inclusion Centre at the Cranfield School of Management, states that businesses need to be sure they “are not only advancing the progress of a certain small group of women, but are truly pushing board diversity in every sense.”

The commercial power of diverse leadership

Hina Nagarajan of Diageo, a company highlighted in the Female FTSE Board Report as having a significant number of women at all levels, points to the commercial power for businesses of a diverse leadership and workforce: “Having women from different backgrounds in leadership roles not only creates the inspiration for the next generation, but also brings true representation of the consumer group any business must address.” She states that diversity and balance across both gender and background ensures “a culture where everyone can do their best and enhance the winning potential of any organisation through powerful ideas and solutions.”

This year’s Women to Watch supplement is supported by the Black British Business Awards and The Network of Networks (TNON). Diane Greenidge, founder of TNON, calls for businesses to realise the positive impact that women from a diverse range of backgrounds can have on their success, describing the women highlighted by the supplement as “leaders in their field [who] have the potential to bring the power of greater diversity to UK boardrooms.”

Highlighting the existing talent pool

By putting a spotlight on the profiles of 50 eminent female professionals from BAME backgrounds, the Women to Watch supplement sets out to challenge assumptions about the type of women suited to board positions and disrupt the status quo. Melanie Eusebe and Sophie Chandauka, Co-Founders of the Black British Business Awards, state that: “In 2019, it is simply unacceptable for any FTSE 350 nomination committee to refer to the common refrain that there are no BAME women on boards because the talent does not exist.” The Women to Watch supplement highlights that “BAME women of commercial excellence and tenure exist in substantial numbers.”

Through the publication of the Women to Watch supplement, with its focus on diversity through a cultural and ethnic lens, Dr Atewologun says “we are asking, and inviting, executive search consultants, chairmen and chairwomen as well as other non-executive directors and other stakeholders to turn attention to the diverse range of talent available to lead the UK’s largest firms… we would like to congratulate these women and we would like to really emphasise that there is talent out there.”

Listen to the Ethnicity on boards podcast from last year’s Alumni Conference