The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) is mounting a campaign to encourage the UK’s largest companies to increase transparency around diversity policies and targets
This week marks the first meeting of a new business diversity and inclusion group set up to coordinate action to increase diversity and inclusion in business and build on the work of a number of government-backed reviews led by senior business leaders into workplace diversity.
Its members include Stephen Haddrill, CEO of the Financial Reporting Council (FRC), Jayne-Anne Gadhia, government champion for women in finance, Sir Philip Hampton, chair of FTSE women leaders review, and Lady Barbara Judge, chair of the Institute of Directors.
The group, to be chaired by business minister Margot James, will seek to establish what information listed companies could disclose to help tackle barriers in the workplace.
It comes a week after the government put forward proposals for listed companies to increase transparency about their diversity policies, targets and progress towards those targets, as part of its corporate governance reforms. The FRC is set to consider the government’s proposals as part of a review of its code later this year.
James said: ‘I am calling on our largest companies to lead from the front and promote greater inclusion in their workplaces by increasing transparency about their diversity policies, targets and progress.’
Stephen Haddrill, CEO, FRC, said: ‘Diversity at all levels in organisations builds strong foundations for long-term success, in both the private and the public sector. Making good use of the talent, skills and experience of all drives better corporate performance and a successful economy.
‘Those businesses which reflect the diverse nature of the environment in which they and their stakeholders operate are the ones that employees, customers and other stakeholders value.’
Government-backed reviews into workplace diversity have set targets to improve diversity in the workplace including aiming for 33% of FTSE 350 board positions to be filled by women by 2020, all FTSE 350 firms to have at least one director from an ethnic minority and for all companies with more than 50 employees to publish a breakdown of their workforce by race and pay band.
Report by Pat Sweet
