Many Ethnic Minorities in UK Financial Services Face Racism, Discrimination: Survey

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The UK may be more ethnically and racially diverse than ever, but minorities working in the financial services industry continue to face discrimination, according to a new study.

About 70% of ethnic minorities working in finance have experienced discrimination at work in the last year and four-fifths have experienced unwelcome comments based on their background, according to the latest Race to Equality in UK Financial Services report by Reboot, a network of senior Black, Asian and minority ethnic executives.

It also found that a quarter of survey respondents believe that racial jokes are still tolerated where they work suggesting discrimination in the workplace is still rife.

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The research, conducted by Coleman Parkes, surveyed 600 ethnic minorities and 200 white employees across the financial services sector in August. The mid-to-senior levels respondents all have spent at least a decade in the industry and hail from 392 companies with combined annual revenues of about £1.4 trillion ($1.7 trillion).

“These stark findings are bad for society and business and mean that we’re perpetuating systems and practices that keep a significant talent pool from achieving their full potential,” said Hannah Grove, a board member for Reboot Advisory.

Researchers are increasingly exposing evidence of racial prejudice affecting ethnic minority employees. Almost all ethnic minorities in the UK face a stubborn wage gap that can’t be explained by factors such as occupation and education, according to a report released by the Institute for Fiscal Studies last month.

Photograph: Skyscraper office buildings on the skyline in the Canary Wharf business, shopping and financial district in London, UK, on Thursday, Oct. 28, 2021. Photo credit: Jason Alden/Bloomberg

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