The retail sector still has a “long road ahead” when it comes to diversity and inclusion, a new BRC report shows.
While businesses were more likely to have developed a D&I strategy this past year than they were ever before, progress moved slower than in 2022, according to the Diversity & Inclusion in UK Retail report published on Wednesday.
The proportion of women at the top three leadership levels slightly increased – women-held board positions rose from 37.5% in 2022 to 37.8% this year – but the industry is still “a long way off a 50/50 gender split”, the BRC said.
Gender diversity on leadership teams remained below the FTSE 250 benchmark of 40%.
Ethnic diversity has also improved – the proportion of ethnically diverse leaders on retail boards has increased to 10%, which is more than double the 2021 figure (4.5%). But progress has slowed since last year, and almost 30% of boardrooms were still all white in 2023.
Additionally, more than two-thirds of companies still had no specific targets in place to track and drive progress, which contributed to a lack of tangible action and benefits for the workforce.
This was particularly noticeable among disabled workers, which had the lowest levels of representation at senior levels as only 17% of retailers could identify a disabled role model in the top levels of their organisation – slightly up from 15% in 2022.
Looking to the broader workforce, 8.2% identified as bisexual, gay or lesbian, and other. This marks an increase on last year, when LGBTQ+ representation was estimated at 7.3%.
Retail employees from both these groups reported having low feelings of recognition, having a voice, and overall happiness at work.
But “identifying these hurdles is the first step to creating solutions”, BRC CEO Helen Dickinson told The Grocer. “Identifying shortfalls is how we create opportunities. We must not be disheartened by slow progress. We must double down on what’s working and persevere.”
The BRC’s annual report looks at how retailers perform on gender, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, social mobility, and age. It also tracks progress at different levels of the labour force, from shop floor to board room.
When asked how progress has been achieved, retailers cited newly appointed D&I leaders, heavy investment in training, and employee-led resource groups.
This has been contributing to improved figures all around, not just in terms of gender and ethnic diversity.
LGBTQ+ representation at a senior level, for instance, jumped since last year: around 64% retailers had at least one LGBTQ+ senior leader in 2023 compared to 47% in 2022 and 27% in 2021.
Companies have also been widening their D&I scope to include other diversity characteristics such as social mobility and disability, which Dickinson said “were much less common even last year”.
“I’m so encouraged to see so many retailers gearing up their D&I activity and the breadth it covers across all diversity characteristics, but the progress we’ve made so far hasn’t sufficiently shifted the dial,” she said.
“I know this will take time, but equally, we must not rest on our laurels. While the will is there, until every individual – no matter their background – feels they can reach their true potential in the workplace, we are failing.”
Read Helen Dickinson’s full letter on the latest BRC diversity & inclusion report here.
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