Drawing on the work of the celebrated 18th century political economist, Adam Smith, and his idea that a free and productive market is one that is naturally guided by an ‘invisible hand’ that ensures justice and equality, BTC Chair Harry Matovu KC considers whether business should engage with societal issues, and in particular race equity, as an economic imperative.
BTC is proud to support CBERG’s Empowering Change Through Black ERGs, a whitepaper exploring the pivotal role of Black Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) in driving Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I). Packed with actionable strategies, it provides a roadmap for boosting Black representation, fostering allyship, and aligning ERGs with corporate goals. Whether forming or enhancing a Black ERG, this guide is an invaluable resource for building more inclusive workplaces.
Our research, ‘Why We Need to Pick up the Pace of Black Representation in Finance and Professional Services in the UK’, published in partnership with Bain and Company earlier this year, demonstrates that black talent is still significantly underrepresented in the highest-paid and particularly influential sectors of British business. We know that significant effort has been made by many British businesses to encourage the recruitment of black talent since 2020. However, organisations still find it disproportionately difficult to recruit black talent into areas of strategic priority and growth, whilst also facing challenges to the retention and promotion of the black talent they do have. In this research, ‘Why We Need to Fix the Broken Pipeline for Graduate Black Talent in the UK,’ made in partnership with Bain & Company, our focus is on exploring what the issues are preventing some organisations from building diverse graduate pipelines.
Research from the Black Talent Charter in collaboration with Bain & Company, has shown that, despite ongoing efforts to diversify, the highest-paid sectors of British business remain white dominated professions. The finance and the professional sectors, which include consulting, accounting, law and finance, have annual salaries of between £40-100k, and yet they employ less than half the percentage (2%) of the Black British working population (4.4%). This employment gap is a systemic problem that has resisted efforts to move the dial within business.
As a Signatory of the Charter, businesses pledge to promote Black talent by:
If you are interested in your organisation becoming a Signatory, please contact us using the form below.