Baroness Helena Morrissey, chair of the Diversity Project, emphasises the need for reform in how businesses address these issues.
The findings are based on a Reboot survey of 260 employees conducted by Opinium in August and September. Reboot is a group of senior financial professionals who promote diversity and inclusion in the financial industry through research and awareness campaigns. It seeks to reveal discrepancies between firms’ internal activities and outward commitments, advocating for more significant change and openness in racial equality efforts.
According to Reboot’s findings, 74 per cent of respondents stated their employer took action during the riots, while just 56 per cent reported receiving internal statements of support. Only 8 per cent noticed any external comments advocating change, whereas 47 per cent reported that their employer-provided more freedom for remote work or travel.
But many employees thought these steps were rash, with communication frequently ceasing after a week and depending on formulaic letters referring them to external aid programmes.
Additionally, employees expressed reluctance to advocate publicly due to concerns about reputational risks and potential impacts on career growth. This hesitation is particularly pronounced among ethnic minorities, who feel this pressure more acutely than their white colleagues.
Diversity Project chair Baroness Helena Morrissey says: “The Reboot survey results confirm that firms have a long way to go to help employees who feel concerned about racism, especially in light of the recent riots. Actions speak much louder than words yet the reality is that many firms are unsure about how to communicate with their employees about these issues, let alone take the right actions.
Business in the Community race equality director Sandra Kerr CBE says: “Employers have a responsibility to create safe spaces for all employees, where open conversations can be had, and everyone can have their voices heard. The survey results show that employers still have a long way to go to support Black, Asian, Mixed Race, and other ethnically diverse colleagues who may be feeling severely impacted by the recent outbreaks of violence and unrest witnessed across the UK.
“It’s very important that employers take actions to support ethnically diverse employees, by providing support, such as mental health support, to those who need it. One of BITC’s Race at Work Charter commitments is to support race inclusion allies in the workplace, and it is essential for employers to support allies as well as ethnically diverse employees, so that our workplaces and communities are places where everyone feels included, valued, and like they belong.”
Reboot founder Noreen Biddle Shah says: “Unfortunately, 70 per cent of our respondents think that since the initial BLM movement’s launch – which is when we founded Reboot to tackle the topic of race in the workplace – many organisations have done very little in the past four years to make material changes. Action and advocacy from the top is needed to drive greater racial equality in the financial services – and currently, words are not translating into progress.
“This is why the government’s commitment to introduce ethnicity pay gap reporting comes as a huge welcome. We hope with their almost 100 days in power, there will be more information on how (not if) this will be implemented and as a priority.”
Invesco CFA head of UK pensions & EMEA consultant relations Sachin Bhatia says: “At a macro level – geopolitical instability, a rise in populism and financial pressures – has driven ESG fatigue as well as anti-immigration sentiment. Marginalised groups in the UK are feeling the brunt, particularly where diversity, equality and inclusion initiatives are either being scaled back or handled with extreme caution. Our annual report is due in Q4 and it will be based on responses of 700 professionals in the UK financial services industry – we are hoping this will help us unravel more of the issues.”