Tackling Race inequality in the workplace requires a united effort from schools and universities, businesses and government. Some changes will take time, but HR teams can act now to make their workforce more diverse, argues Sandra Kerr, National Campaign Director, Race for Opportunity.

Race still seems to be a barrier for many in the UK workforce. This is the picture revealed last year by Race for Opportunity’s Race to the Top report. Ethnic minorities are still underrepresented in the workforce, compared to the general population, and on current trends will never achieve the share of management positions they deserve. More than 1 in 10 of the British population comes from an ethnic group and just one in 15 (6.8 percent) were in a management position in 2007.

Surely the majority of employers are not inherently racist, so what’s perpetuating this problem? This year, Race for Opportunity undertook research into ethnic minorities in higher education to ascertain if the future leaders of tomorrow are at a disadvantage before they even enter the workforce. Is a lack of higher education qualifications preventing access to some industries and progression up the ladder for ethnic minorities?

The key message to come out of the research was a positive one; British ethnic minorities are now better represented in higher education than ever before. The report, Race into Higher Education, showed that one in six (16.0 percent) of UK students are from a Black Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) background, up from 8.3 percent in 1995-96, the year in which Business in the Community founded Race for Opportunity. This figure, and all the collective actions of schools, universities, government and ethnic minorities themselves, should be applauded. However, this headline masks a complex and less positive reality.

“What is worrying is that elite universities are known for producing CEOs, editors and prime minsters, yet they are failing to fairly represent UK society within their student bodies”

Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) graduates are failing to find employment as easily as their white counterparts. Just 56.3 percent of BAME students who graduated in 2007-08 found work within a year compared with 66 percent of White students. A possible conclusion is that while BAME students are going to university in healthy numbers, what and where they are studying may be the real root of the problem.

Our research also revealed that BAME representation at Russell Group universities is unbalanced and heavily regionalised around London and areas with a higher ethnic population. The four London based Russell Group universities, including the London School of Economics and King’s College, have a high proportion of BAME students but outside of London BAME representation is by comparison poor. Only Birmingham, Manchester, Nottingham and Warwick universities are attracting a representative proportion of the UK ethnic minority population.

What is worrying is that these elite universities are known for producing CEOs, editors and prime minsters, yet they are failing to fairly represent UK society within their student bodies. If this remains the case, how will we find the Barak Obama’s of Britain’s future? Another part of the problem is that many of Britain’s most admired companies – and the ones that often offer the best remuneration – target the Russell Group universities during the Milk Round graduate recruitment process. The result is that these companies are recruiting from a pool of graduates that does not have a proportional representation of BAME students.

The UK is becoming more diverse and the combined disposable income of ethnic minorities in the UK is on the increase. The business case for race diversity cannot be ignored by businesses. Action is needed now to ensure the UK’s future workforce is diverse and representative of the population. While there is a need for government and universities to focus on ensuring that ethnic minorities have every opportunity to further their learning, there is also a need for positive intervention by employers.

Arguably employers can make the biggest difference of all by taking action now and looking at their recruitment and diversity policies. Employers that don’t are missing out on a major pool of talent by purely focusing their graduate recruitment on the top 20 universities in the UK. A more varied and open-minded recruitment process is needed, as many ethnic minorities are simply not aware of the importance employers ascribe to going to a ‘proper’ university. Employers should place less importance on where someone studies and ascribe more value to what they could achieve, rather than what they already have.

University attendance figures are at a record high thanks to the government’s commitment to getting more school leavers go to university, but this also means that many talented students are choosing study at a wider selection of universities. Focusing on the top universities is a logical strategy for some businesses, but this should not mean to the exclusion of others. Graduate recruitment has typically been done this way, but it is now up to HR teams to move with the times and instigate a culture change. It is important that those in positions of responsibility start those small steps today and pledge to a sustained, long-term commitment for change.

Sandra Kerr, National Campaign Director
Race for Opportunity.
www.raceforlife.org