Public sector leadership populations are less diverse than FTSE 100, says Green Park survey
11 September 2014
Women and ethnic minorities are significantly under-represented at leadership level in public and voluntary sectors, according to research conducted by executive recruitment consultancy Green Park.
Thu, 11 Sep 2014Women and ethnic minorities are significantly under-represented at leadership level in public and voluntary sectors, according to research conducted by executive recruitment consultancy Green Park.
The survey of staff working in the top 5,000 leadership roles also showed there is less ethnic diversity in public sector leadership across the UK than in the FTSE 100. Even London, the most diverse area of Britain, has a lower proportion of visible minority executives in the public sector than the FTSE 100.
Of the 268 people in leadership roles in the most prominent public bodies outside government and local authorities – such as the Bank Of England, NHS England and the BBC – just six were non-white.
There are virtually no employees of black, Chinese or other Asian origin within the top four grades of the civil service. Overall ethnic minorities are under-represented in senior civil service roles by a factor of one to every six positions.
The Department for International Development and the Treasury perform highest on ethnic diversity in leadership roles, while the Home Office, the Ministry of Justice and the Department for Communities and Local Government are among the worst.
Although gender diversity is better in the public sector than the private sector, women appear just as unlikely to break through the glass ceiling to the top public jobs as they are to the top FTSE 100 roles.
The voluntary sector performs better than both the public and private sectors on gender diversity, however, as in those sectors, women are under-represented at chief executive level and just one in five chairs of charity boards is female.
Ethnic minorities are under-represented in leadership roles in the UK’s charities sector by a factor of almost four to one, and in this respect the sector is even less diverse than the FTSE 100.
In a press statement, Raj Tulsiani, CEO of Green Park, said: “The paltry representation of ethno-cultural minorities at the top levels of the public and voluntary sectors is not just disappointing; it is alarming, given that there appears to be no change in the pipeline.”
Tulsiani was hailed Recruitment Agency Leader of the Year in this year’s Recruiter Awards for Excellence.
The survey of staff working in the top 5,000 leadership roles also showed there is less ethnic diversity in public sector leadership across the UK than in the FTSE 100. Even London, the most diverse area of Britain, has a lower proportion of visible minority executives in the public sector than the FTSE 100.
Of the 268 people in leadership roles in the most prominent public bodies outside government and local authorities – such as the Bank Of England, NHS England and the BBC – just six were non-white.
There are virtually no employees of black, Chinese or other Asian origin within the top four grades of the civil service. Overall ethnic minorities are under-represented in senior civil service roles by a factor of one to every six positions.
The Department for International Development and the Treasury perform highest on ethnic diversity in leadership roles, while the Home Office, the Ministry of Justice and the Department for Communities and Local Government are among the worst.
Although gender diversity is better in the public sector than the private sector, women appear just as unlikely to break through the glass ceiling to the top public jobs as they are to the top FTSE 100 roles.
The voluntary sector performs better than both the public and private sectors on gender diversity, however, as in those sectors, women are under-represented at chief executive level and just one in five chairs of charity boards is female.
Ethnic minorities are under-represented in leadership roles in the UK’s charities sector by a factor of almost four to one, and in this respect the sector is even less diverse than the FTSE 100.
In a press statement, Raj Tulsiani, CEO of Green Park, said: “The paltry representation of ethno-cultural minorities at the top levels of the public and voluntary sectors is not just disappointing; it is alarming, given that there appears to be no change in the pipeline.”
Tulsiani was hailed Recruitment Agency Leader of the Year in this year’s Recruiter Awards for Excellence.
