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UK retail still has a long way to go on diversity, report shows

  • Just 8% of retail chairs are female, 10% of CEOs and CFOs
  • ‘Urgent progress’ needed on racial diversity, study says

British retailers need to do more to improve diversity at the top of their businesses to better reflect the consumers they serve, according to a new report. 

Out of more than 200 businesses studied, only 14 have female chairs and 21 have female chief executive officers or chief financial officers, according to the survey carried out by the British Retail Consortium and executive search firm The MBS Group. Over a third of retailers have all-white boards or executive committees, the report shows.

The findings shine a light on the shortcomings of an industry that’s one of the largest employers in the UK. Over the past year there has been “little or no progress” in terms of the number of women in senior levels of management, and while ethnic diversity has improved, momentum on driving up ethnic diversity has slowed since last year, when retailers were responding to the Black Lives Matter movement. 

“Women are still underrepresented at the most senior levels, ethnic diversity urgently needs addressing, and areas such as social mobility, disability and age are still not sufficiently prioritized in strategies,” Helen Dickinson, CEO of the BRC, said in an emailed statement.

Still, there have been some signs of progress since last year, when BRC and The MBS Group first undertook the survey. Some 76 companies including Tesco Plc, Greggs Plc, Boots and Burberry Group Plc have signed up to the BRC Diversity and Inclusion Charter, up from around 45 retailers last year. The charter will track the progress retailers make on a number of key metrics, such as eliminating bias in recruitment processes. 

Coordinated Strategy

More than 90% of companies have a coordinated strategy regarding diversity and inclusion, compared with 76% last year. 

Nonetheless, retailers need to “double down” on their efforts and particularly in ethnic diversity “urgent progress” is needed given a notable lack of Black leaders, according to the report. 

Some of the difficulties faced by retailers include lack of data, insufficient resources and competing priorities. Given the cost of living crisis, there may be a “temptation” for companies to focus on short-term trading and commercial goals, but keeping attention on diversity will be key for their future success, Elliott Goldstein, managing partner at MBS, said on a call with reporters. 

“Progress toward representation is worryingly slow, with the industry’s most senior positions still dominated by white men, and fewer women in the pipeline beneath executive committee,” Goldstein said in the emailed statement. “The time for change was yesterday.”

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