Ethnic minority representation in leadership roles at the UK’s largest companies has increased over the past year, a government-backed review has found.
However, “significant further improvement” is still needed to meet diversity targets by next year.
The latest Parker Review also noted a “disappointing” decline in black representation at board and senior management levels last year.
Despite this, ethnic diversity broadly improved across FTSE 350 boards and senior leadership in the latest reporting period.
Chair of the review David Tyler said he was “pleased” with continued engagement and efforts regarding diversity from firms despite “headwinds” across the Atlantic, with many US companies pulling diversity and inclusion targets under Donald Trump’s presidency.
The latest report found that ethnic minorities now hold 20 per cent of FTSE 100 board positions and 16 per cent of board roles at FTSE 250 firms, with both representing record levels.
This included 14 ethnic minority chief executives across the FTSE 100, another record high.
It means that 98 of FTSE 100 companies now have at least one ethnic minority director on their board, rising from 95 in 2024.
The Parker Review was launched in 2015 as part of efforts to drive an improvement in diversity across senior leadership roles in the UK’s largest companies.
However, the latest figures showed that only 42 per cent of the UK’s 50 largest private companies currently meet the 2027 target for board representation, dropping from 48 per cent in the previous year.
The report also said that “while progress continues, significant further improvement will be required over the next two years for many companies to meet their self-set 2027 targets”.
Mr Tyler said: “We are pleased to note that the engagement of the business community with the Parker Review on ethnic diversity has shown no decline despite headwinds from across the Atlantic.
“The ethnic diversity of the UK workforce has increased significantly over the last 25 years and will continue to do so over the next quarter century.
“Companies realise that they need to respond to this by recruiting and retaining talented people in the minority ethnic communities to ensure that they remain competitive.”
Soumen Das, co-chair of the Parker Review Steering Committee, said: “As we transition to a new leadership and move into the next phase of the Review’s work, our focus will be on building on this progress, addressing areas which need further attention, and supporting companies in delivering against their 2027 commitments.”
Business secretary Peter Kyle said: “I welcome the progress shown in this report — but progress is not the finish line. There is more to do to ensure our boardrooms truly reflect the talent and diversity of modern Britain, and I look forward to the Parker Review continuing to drive fairer representation into the future.”