| Thank you Krishnan for that introduction.
Let me start by congratulating the Guardian and TMP Worldwide for
jointly sponsoring and organising today's event and saying how delighted
I am to be here.
I've been passionately involved with diversity since the 70s - not
just in a personal capacity, but professionally, with Age Concern,
Liberty, the IPPR and the Commission for Social Justice as well.
Today's supplement shows how far we've come from the days of being
written off as the "politically correct police". Diversity is
now integral to any successful business - not just a bolt on.
As Allan Leighton, Chairman of Royal Mail, has said
"Diversity is not about equal opportunities or compliance, it's
about being more competitive."
Competitive in the global economy.
Its been said that if the world were a village of 100 people, there
would be:
61 Asians
13 Africans
12 Europeans
9 South Americans
5 North Americans
33 Christians
18 Muslims
16 Hindus
16 people with no religious beliefs at all
6 Buddhists
46 people that live in cities
14 illiterate adults
1 adult with HIV/AIDS
4 Internet users
8 people with personal computers
2 educated at college
That is the reality of today's diverse global economy.
Our countries and economies are increasingly interdependent and the
countries, and companies that do best are those that are at home with
diversity.
Some of the British press talk about asylum seekers as if migration
was something other people inflicted upon Britain. The reality is that
Britain has done this for centuries.
Britain's history of Empire and Commonwealth has often been bloody
and terrible, but we are now one of the most open, cosmopolitan nations
in the world. Our diversity is a huge advantage to us.
It brings not only cultural richness, but also economic and
competitive advantage.
Britain - as a free and wealthy country - would be a magnet in any
case for people seeking a better life and for those fleeing
impoverished, war-torn lands. But the magnet is a thousand times
stronger for those connected to Britain by history, language, culture
and family.
In this global economy, the globe is at home in Britain. The new
generation of British Asian and African-Caribbean professionals and
entrepreneurs not only grow businesses here; they also create trade and
investment links abroad. Both Germany and Britain want to recruit people
with urgently-needed IT skills from India; but as one Indian business
leader told a senior German politician, "why would Indians want to
go and live in Germany when they feel at home in Britain?"
So I believe our diversity brings us huge competitive advantages.
But the truth is there is still a long way to go before every
community in Britain has the same chance to achieve their full
potential.
Discrimination, be it racism, ageism, sexism, is still far too
apparent in the workplace.
British African Caribbean's are:
- Four times as likely to be refused a job interview - though
there's no evidence they're worse qualified;
- Four times as likely to be unemployed - though there's no evidence
they don't have the same skills;
- Four times as likely to be unemployed even when they're graduates.
So we've this insane situation where talented black graduates are
working as taxi drivers because they can't find a job for their skills.
These problems are not just exclusive to African Caribbeans. Bangladeshi
men earn half than their white counterparts.
The best British business already recognise that their success
depends upon recruiting from the widest possible - and most diverse -
talent pool, and from appealing to their widest customer base.
The bottom line is diversity means customers.
Race for Opportunity runs a benchmarking system which allows
businesses to evaluate race-related issues - such as how many ethnic
minority employees reach senior positions, how well they monitor
recruitment, and how well they assess the needs of ethnic minority
customers and stakeholders.
But only 18 FTSE 100 companies went for benchmarking this year. Next
year, I want to see this double, or more.
So today I am writing to 500 top companies, urging them to follow the
examples of the best. I want to make it clear that diversity is crucial
- for our economy and our society; and that embracing it can bring real
improvements in corporate reputation, employee morale and the bottom
line.
With half all new jobs over the next ten years going to ethnic
minorities
we should be pulling the stops out. But, in fact, we're pulling the plug
out. On huge sections of society.
Gender discrimination is still rife.
Women are still held back with a pay gap of 19%.
Just 1 in 4 managers and 1 in 10 directors are women. In our top
companies it's even less. And there's still only one female chief
executive in the FTSE 100.
The reasons are complex, but the main problem is that men suffer a
time gap and women suffer a pay gap.
Women earn only 80p for every pound earned by a man. So it's still
the case that too often it's the woman who gives up work while the man
works longer hours to make up for her loss of income.
So we end up with a situation where women are denied fair choice; and
1 in 4 men work more than 48 hours a week.
Age accounts for four in ten discrimination cases and costs us £16
billion a year in lost GDP plus a further £3-5 billion in extra
benefits and lost taxes.
Tackling this is not about working till you drop but choosing when
you stop.
What is old age these days? 45? 50? 55? I always thought age was ten
years older than I was. But as a fifty four year old, I'm shocked that 1
in 3 over 45s are out of work.
No wonder Victor Meldrew had such a chip on his shoulder.
It's not just an "older" issue too. Younger people are
sullied with a perception that they're inexperienced, unreliable,
irresponsible, more likely to throw "sickies" and lacking
organisational skills.
Disability too. There are 8 million disabled people in this country
and they are five times more likely to be unemployed.
So discrimination still takes place every day. Because of gender,
age, race, sexual orientation, religion or belief.
This is a challenge to us
- In Government - making sure everyone can contribute to wealth
creation, share in national prosperity and access public services;
- As individuals - over-coming pre-conceived ideas; transforming
cultures; changing the way we manage our lives;
- In British boardrooms - winning the war for talent and ideas.
The prize of tackling discrimination is huge.
First, a stronger society.
We all know the effect discrimination has on individuals, families
and communities.
I've received many letters from people who've
- Had the phone put down by prospective employers once they've said
their age; or
- Been transferred to admin work when they've got management skills;
- Been overlooked for promotion whilst male colleagues have been
promoted ahead of them…
A good society is one where every individual has equal worth, but we
know that each individual is unique. So we value our common humanity and
our differences.
A stronger society also means a stronger economy.
Because the irony is that those untapped are those with the greatest
contribution to make.
For instance,
- Mothers have leadership, management and financing skills to die
for;
- Emmeline Pankhurst was 60 when she won her first fight for votes
for women; Mick Jagger's 62 and still drawing the crowds in; Mahatma
Ghandi was 77 when he won independence for India; and Christopher
Wren was 79 when he finished building St Pauls Cathedral.
- Ethnic minorities are worth £32 billion every year and are keener
to spend it; keener to take advantage of new technologies; and
keener to start up businesses than their white counterparts. The
start up rate is almost double amongst ethnic minorities.
Many of our best businesses are seeing this.
Like Lloyds TSB, who introduced flexible working options four years
ago.
Or Sainsburys who developed their older worker plans back in 1986.
Or B&Q who - at their employees' suggestion - celebrate different
cultural and religious festivals at their stores.
So there are loads of examples of best practice out there.
From Government's point of view, this is ideal. Real culture change
comes bottom up, not top down.
So we're putting money into helping others do it.
And we're also stamping out the small minority of business who think
discrimination doesn't matter, or that it's ok to harass gay men or deny
people jobs because of their religion.
It's these incidents that need legislation and I make no apology for
it.
Equality of opportunity is fundamental. To the Government and to the
strength of our economy and our society.
We will legislate where we have to.
I'm delighted that, from December, for the first time, legislation
will protect against any workplace discrimination on the grounds of
sexual orientation, religion or belief - whatever the size of
organisation; whether it is private or public sector.
To help business prepare, guidance is available from ACAS and we're
running a press campaign from next month.
And we're also making sure our equality institutions are as strong
and effective as possible.
We're consulting widely and thinking hard about the proposal for a
single equality body and I'll announce our decision shortly.
To close, there's a huge amount going on at the moment. I
congratulate all of you on this work and urge you to carry on coming up
with new ideas for attracting and retaining new employees, customers and
suppliers.
Not only are you making your businesses better - you're making our
economy stronger, and our society stronger.
So Britain is a place where everyone has the chance to contribute to
- and benefit from - rising prosperity.
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