having one member of our senior executive team who is responsible and accountable for Black representation and inclusion, recruitment, career progression and opportunity for promotion in our UK business;
creating and maintaining in our UK business an environment where Black talent can be identified, developed and promoted for the benefit of individuals and the organisation;
committing to work in good faith to enhance Black representation and inclusion in our UK business by the steps set out below, recognising (a) that the fundamental objective of the Charter is to change the landscape for the recruitment and promotion of Black talent in business within 10 years, (b) that, as part of this mission, it is important to demonstrate and report a measurably enhanced culture of inclusion and progress in my organisation against clear targets, even if the targets themselves are not yet achieved; and (c) that targets must be challenging if they are to be effective (collectively, the “Core Commitment”);
requiring external financial and professional services providers engaged by us to demonstrate their commitment to promoting Black representation among their staff;
establishing baseline data for Black [1] representation in our UK business (on the basis of self-identification by professionals or employees and subject to applicable data protection legislation), including data showing the percentage of Black professionals or employees among new recruits and in senior positions in our UK business at the date of Charter signature; and maintaining a record of Black professionals, employees and new recruits each year (on the basis of self-identification as such and subject to applicable data protection legislation);
having regard to the Core Commitment above:
developing an action plan (or amending an existing diversity action plan) with details specific to improving Black representation and inclusion, recruitment and career progression in our UK business, which identifies the progress the firm aims to achieve across the business;
setting ambitious internal targets to be achieved within five years for Black representation amongst our recruits and in senior positions, against our baseline data and having regard to the business model and programme of our firm for career progression, work allocation and promotion;
in particular, setting internal targets to achieve a significant increase in the number of Black professionals and executives in the most senior grades in our UK business;
sharing and discussing our proposed action plan and targets confidentially with the Charter team as an external test of their realism and ambition;
publishing:
details of the steps taken to create and maintain an environment for the identification, development and promotion of Black talent; and providing annual data confidentially to the Charter team:
details of progress against our baseline data, action plan and internal targets for the recruitment of Black talent and for Black representation across departments and in senior positions in our UK business; and
ensuring that performance appraisals of the responsible senior executive specifically include an assessment of progress on delivery against these internal targets.
As defined by the Office for National Statistics, ‘Black’ means African, Caribbean, Black British, white and Black Caribbean and white and Black African heritage.
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.