What we do
The Group's aims are:
- to ensure where relevant, that Government initiatives have a clear focus on reducing the ethnic minority employment gap;
- encouraging employers to tackle discrimination in the work place and embrace diversity practices;
- ensuring ethnic minority perspectives and considerations are kept high on the agenda for policy makers.
People in some ethnic minority communities are three times more likely to be out of work than the population as a whole. More than half of the children from some communities are growing up in relative poverty. Research shows clearly that some employers discriminate against job applicants on the basis of their race.
These issues need to be tackled if the Government is to achieve its ambition of a society based upon the principles of freedom, fairness and responsibility. Improving labour market performance also makes economic and commercial sense. The economy functions best when the talents of all citizens are harnessed and the labour force is performing to its maximum capacity. Individual companies benefit from diversity within their work force which can bring fresh thinking and innovation as well as insight into the needs of an increasingly diverse customer base.
Some excellent and progressive work has been undertaken in the following areas:
- diversity and equality in public procurement
- a free online toolkit for employers including an interactive tool examining intrinsic bias
- a free online data portal pulling together sources of ethnic minority data, together with guides for local government professionals on how to use the data to be informed of employment levels in their area.