Diversity UK joins Race Equality Matters for a push on race equality

Diversity UK has partnered with Race Equality Matters, a not for profit community interest company founded by diversity & recruitment consultancy Green Park, Black History Month and The Collaboratory, to improve racial equality in the workplace and launch a UK-wide Race Equality Week.

Race Equality Matters was formed in response to the Black Lives Matter Movement to turn declarations of commitment and support from organisations and individuals into meaningful change in racial equality both in the workforce & in society. The not for profit community interest company (CIC) aims to improve workplace equality across the public, private and charity sectors through a collaboration of companies, race networks, field experts, individuals and allies who will create solutions and work with member organisations to implement the change.

In addition to forming a Race Equality Network, which will seek to support, empower and resource race networks, Race Equality Matters intends to launch an annual Race Equality Week, taking place in the first full working week in February each year.

Race Equality Week will be a UK-wide initiative to unite organisations and individuals in activity to address issues affecting ethnic minority employees. Organisations will be able to register to join the Race Equality Week pin campaign and to receive tools and resources to facilitate conversation, activity and commitment to change.

The Colour of Power 2020

The announcement follows the release of Green Park’s The Colour of Power research, a visual depiction of the upper echelons of the UK’s most powerful institutions. The Colour of Power 2020 highlights not only the lack of diversity and disparity of power in the UK’s most senior leadership roles, but the total failure to address it despite three years of government-backed targets and ample rhetoric about commitments to diversity & inclusion.

Just 52 out of the 1099 most powerful roles in the country are filled by non-white individuals, or 4.7% of the total number compared to the 13% proportion of the UK population. This is a gain of only 15 additional ethnic minority held roles since the Colour of Power 2017 index. Black individuals are particularly under-represented with just 17 of the 1099 roles held by Black men and women, despite organisations across Britain and the world declaring their commitment to improving equality and diversity, in the light of the Black Lives Matter movement.

Co-founder and CEO of Green Park, Raj Tulsiani comments: “Following the Black Lives Matter protests and the disparity of impact the COVID pandemic has had on ethnic minority communities, the UK is beginning to face truths about its relationship with race.

With organisations and individuals more open to have honest conversations and with public declarations of support for the Black Lives Matter movement, we have a real opportunity to turn this moment into meaningful change for the future of the workplace & wider society.

Through Race Equality Matters we intend to empower and amplify the voice of ethnic minority employees and provide organisations, networks and individuals with the insight, tools and resources to drive effective action for sustainable change.”

'Progress on race equality is too slow'

Lopa Patel MBE, Chair of Diversity UK said, “Diversity UK is pleased to be a founding partner of the Race Equality Matters because progress on improving race representation at all levels in corporate life, civil society and the public sector in Britain has been too slow. This has been evidenced by numerous research reports and Government led reviews and is now indisputable.

The lack of equality has impacted the life chances of increasing numbers of black, Asian and minority ethnic individuals in all areas; from housing, schooling, justice and healthcare, to the workplace. We all need to work towards building back the trust and support of the disadvantaged and disenfranchised to ensure that Britain is the progressive society we all want it to be and Race Equality Matters is the ideal flag bearer for this progress”.

Championing diversity and inclusion, Green Park is a multi-award-winning recruitment and diversity consultancy responsible for advocating and accelerating high-calibre diverse ethnic minority leaders into senior executive and board positions. Green Park’s expertise in recruitment, diversity and employer brand will be met by The Collaboratory’s experience in running collaborative social inclusion campaigns, including The Lord Mayor’s Green Ribbon campaign to tackle the stigma of mental health in the workplace.

Co-founded by Green Park, Black History Month & The Collaboratory, Race Equality Matters already has the support of additional partners: Diversity UK, Rare Recruitment, The Governance Forum, Diversity Dashboard & The Diversity Digest.

For further information visit www.raceequalitymatters.com