Parker Review Committee, an independent review organization set up by the UK government in 2015 to improve the ethnic and cultural diversity of UK boards, has proposed new ethnic diversity targets for Britain’s top listed and private companies, as reported by Reuters on March 13. It called on each FTSE 350 company to set a percentage target for senior management positions that will be occupied by ethnic minority executives by December 2027, and 50 of the UK’s largest private companies to have at least one ethnic minority director on the main board by December 2027. Each of the 50 largest companies was also required to set a target for the percentage of ethnic minority executives within its senior management team. 

The release of the new targets came with Parker Review’s 2022 results of its latest voluntary census on the ethnic diversity of FTSE 350 company boards, which outlined progress by UK FTSE boards in improving ethnic diversity. Specifically, by the end of 2022, 96 FTSE 100 companies met the target with at least one minority ethnic director on their boards, up from 89 last year, while 67% of FTSE 250 companies have appointed at least one minority ethnic director by the 2024 deadline, up from 55% last year. Parker Review believes that companies benefit from including the development of ethnic minority executives in their succession planning and management development plans. It also suggested that enterprises improve diversity across all levels, not just on boards, to ensure that diverse talent has equal opportunities to contribute to the success of UK businesses.

Sources: 

https://www.reuters.com/business/sustainable-business/britain-toughens-up-diversity-targets-uk-companies-2023-03-13/

https://www.ey.com/en_uk/news/2023/03/parker-review-announces-new-targets-to-improve-ethnic-diversity-of-ftse-350-company-boards

https://www.ey.com/en_uk/diversity-inclusiveness/what-the-parker-review-tells-us-about-boardroom-diversity