Driving Change for Racial Equality in the Workplace
Driving Change for Racial Equality in the Workplace
This International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination arrives at a time when fairness and equality are increasingly under threat. Now, more than ever, we must commit to racial equality — as individuals, businesses, and every employee, from leadership to all levels.
Did any of us have a choice in selecting our parents? The year we were born? Our race, colour, national or ethnic origin? What about our family’s wealth or social status, or even our eye colour and height? We all know the answer is no. These factors—beyond our control—shape who we are, yet they should never define our opportunities or our worth.
Business in the Community’s Race Equality Campaign
Then: A Vision for Change
This year marks the 30th anniversary since Business in the Community (BITC), alongside His Majesty The King, launched a race equality campaign to address the challenges faced by Black, Asian, Mixed Race, and other ethnically diverse employees and to open up opportunities in UK workplaces.
Our theme for this milestone is Then, Now, Next. We have gathered stories from leaders and employees at all levels to shape evidence for a case for progression, allyship and diverse and inclusive supply chains. Eighteen companies joined the campaign in 1995, committing to employ, market, and purchase goods from minority groups, while also involving themselves in communities.
In its early years, the campaign was its in research and pioneering phase, launching the first ever race equality awards. These flagship awards ran from 2007 – 2016, for 10 years, to inspire good practice and innovation and to develop guidelines for businesses. Today, this is established in the Race at Work Charter.
Now: The Progress We’ve Made
The Race at Work Charter has seven key actions, prioritising race equality and fostering inclusivity for Black, Asian, Mixed Race, and other ethnically diverse individuals. We have seen this grow significantly from 85 founding signatories in 2018 to over 1,100 signatories today, all supporting this important cause.
Employers have collaborated since 2013 through BITC’s Cross Organisational Mentoring programme, driven by evidence highlighting the value of mentorship and sponsorship by Black, Asian, Mixed Race and ethnically diverse employees.
We also ran a pilot called ‘Unemployed mentoring circles’ with the Department for Work and Pensions and Job centre plus, in 2014 and again in 2018, before it was adopted in 2019 as the official Job centre policy approach to help young people seeking for work.
Another key action is employers capturing workplace ethnicity data and publicising their progress, and in The King’s Speech in 2024 it was announced that the Draft Equality (Race and Disability) Bill will be brought before Parliament.
Among other things, the Bill calls for mandatory ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting for all UK businesses with more than 250 employees. The Consultation is now open. This is a step in the right direction, and shows the progress made.
Next: The Road Ahead
While many businesses have taken vital action, there is still a long way to go before true race equality can be achieved in the workplace, and we are fully leveraging all available talent, skills and potential.
Race equality in the workplace starts from the top, with leadership setting the tone for fairness, opportunity, and accountability.
Leaders can support this by convening conversations around fairness, access to opportunity and equality. They should explore evidence of potential disparities in these areas and work together with employees and other partners to find solutions.
Leaders can also identify and create opportunities, facilitate introductions to expand individual networks, and use their voice to ensure employees receive recognition and credit for their ideas. They should engage and promote mentorship, sponsorship and job coaching, and explore where opportunities can be created to support attraction, recruitment, retention and progression in the UK workplace.
Talent Unlocked: Driving Inclusive Employment for Young People
BITC has launched its Talent Unlocked partnership with Youth Futures Foundation, the national What Works Centre for Youth Employment.
As part of the partnership, we are supporting a diverse range of employers to understand, develop and implement effective recruitment and retention strategies for ethnically diverse young people who are not in education, employment or training (NEET), in an initiative known as the Pioneer Programme.
The programme will help employers to identify and tackle barriers facing ethnically diverse young people when trying to access employment, create supportive pathways and establish best practice for adoption across the wider workforce.
Join us in Driving Change
Three decades on, the fight for racial equality in the workplace continues. Every business, leader, and employee has a role to play in ensuring fairness, opportunity, and equality for all.
Take action today:
- Sign the Race at Work Charter – join over 1,100 businesses committed to racial inclusion.
- Access BITC’s Race Equality resources – explore practical guides, case studies, and reports to drive change in your organisation.
- Support the Talent Unlocked Programme – help create pathways for young, ethnically diverse talent.
Find out more about our Race campaign.
Together, let’s create fairer, more inclusive workplaces—where everyone can succeed.
MAKE RACE EQUALITY A PRIORITY
