Report's 'wake up call' on FTSE-100 boardroom diversity

Britain's leading public companies are not representing the diversity of the UK and should have at least one non-white director by 2021, according to a report out today.

The review into the Ethnic Diversity of UK Boards lasted almost two years and reveals that out of nearly 1,100 director positions on the FTSE-100, only 1.5% are both non-white and UK citizens. This compares to 14 % of the UK population.

Led by City grandee Sir John Parker, the report shows that 53 out of the FTSE 100 companies do not have any directors of colour.

As well as addressing the top 100 largest public companies, the review urges the next 250 to appoint at least one board member of colour by 2024.

"We don't believe in quotas, we believe in aspirational targets," Sir John said in response to the report, which was first revealed by Sky (LSE: BSY.L - news) 's City Editor Mark Kleinman last week.

"For some this may be a wake-up call to profound demographic changes and offers a real opportunity in the coming years to fish in a very different talent pool."

Michael Eboda, the chief executive of Power Media and founder of Powerlist, an annual list of Britain's most influential black people, welcomed the review.

He said: "The sad thing is that in the boardroom the situation hasn't changed in the last 10 years, if anything, it has got worse."

"This isn't just about being fair. It's about companies utilising the talent that is out there.

"There is not one person of Chinese heritage, for example, on a FTSE-100 board - which, when you think about the amount of business we do with China and are trying to do post Brexit, strikes me as somewhat ludicrous."

Mr Eboda believes the root of the problem lies in the way people are recruited to boards.

He said: "We've spoken to a lot of headhunters and most recruit from their own networks which are quite often not very diverse.

"It's an old boys network and its exactly the same thing that kept women out of the boardroom for so long."

Tech guru and educational philanthropist Tom Illube knows more than most how difficult it can be to reach the highest ranks if you are a person of colour.

He was named the most influential black person by Mr Eboda's Powerlist this year, beating the likes of Mo Farah, Lenny Henry and Lewis Hamilton.

"If you are black and an exec you learn to deal with certain things, which others also have to in some way," he said.

"There'll be a particular incident that makes you think: 'why in the 21st century do I have to deal with that?'

"But you move on and the UK has so much potential you can always step around and find another way."

Margot James, the Business Minister, has responded to the report by confirming the Government "fully endorses its recommendations."