Policy Exchange’s major new report on ethnic minority progression at the top of business and the professions is a story of glass half full and glass half empty.
In the past generation, a cohort of talented minority Brits has emerged from elite universities into top posts in medicine, the law, and some parts of business. Indeed, minority representation in the highest social class — the higher managerial and professional class — is now 11.6 per cent non-white minority compared to just 10.8 per cent white people.
But there are still blockages in particular at the very top of the NHS, the civil service, academia and business — the FTSE100 has only 17 non-white British-born directors out of more than 1,000.
Lead author of the report, Shamit Saggar, Professor of Public Policy at the University of Essex, said:
“Britain has a melting pot of talent. It is clear from our research that people from a minority background are progressing in nearly every walk of life. This is down to hard work, drive and a determination to succeed, a clear trait among many minority communities. But there are still some blockages and ‘snowy white peaks’ at the very top of business and in our public institutions.”