In 2017, the Parker Review made a series of recommendations and set a "One by 2021" target for all FTSE 100 boards to have at least one director from a minority ethnic background by December 2021. The Review also set a similar "One by 2024" target for all FTSE 250 boards.
The voluntary census showed that 89 FTSE 100 companies and 128 FTSE 250 companies had minority ethnic representation on their company boards as of 31 December 2021, the target date. Another 5 FTSE 100 appointments have been announced since then and an additional 3 companies are at an advanced stage in the recruitment process.
As expected, the overwhelming majority of these Board positions are Non-Executive Directors given that FTSE companies generally only have 2 Executive Director positions - CEO and CFO. Progress continues in these key Executive roles but at a relatively slow pace. Only 6 CEOs across the FTSE 100 come from a minority ethnic background and 16 minority ethnic CEOs lead FTSE 250 companies. There are even fewer Chairs from a minority ethnic background: 3 in the FTSE 100 and 5 in the FTSE 250.
The Parker Review recommends that continued attention is focused on this issue and believes that this – together with the growing experience of many recently appointed minority ethnic Non-Executive Directors - will help generate growth in the number of minority ethnic directors in the most influential roles around the Boardroom table. This is what has happened with women directors in recent years, and it is anticipated there will be a similar trend with minority ethnic directors.
To read the full report click on the link.