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HR and diversity professionals.
Living in a different time
30 year ago who'd 'ave thought I'd be sitting 'ere drinking Chateau de Chasselly?
I was poor when I was young but I was happy. I was happy because I was poor, as the guys from Monty Python said.
To be fair, that's not strictly true but I did grow up in Yorkshire. Some things were, well, just different - phones, cars, clothes and the nature of news being a few of the obvious ones.
And racism. There was a lot of it around; my uncle was the first Jew allowed into the local golf club. People made racist jokes all the time. I'd go and see Leeds play or watch the cricket at Headingley. Not places for the faint hearted or for ethnic minorities.
My children may have the answer!
I look at my urban little darlings being brought up in the centre of London. I worry that they have lost out on some of the innocence of youth and they can barely tell the back end of a cow from the front.
But there are some advantages. London's possibly the world's greatest multicultural melting pot. Differentiating someone on the basis of their skin or religion is just complete anathema to them.
The Chelsea idiots shaming themselves on the Paris metro by refusing entry to a black man caused confusion more than anything else.
Happily for me, it gave me 3 days when my son's conversation strayed even slightly off the football itself...
A bright future?
And what about our boardrooms? Those bastions of ethnic enlightenment; how are they doing? Hmm.
Most businesses - and certainly nearly all of our clients - are committed to getting more out of their talented women. In 20 years' time gender will be a non-issue. I'm absolutely convinced.
But what about getting more ethnic diversity into leadership positions? We keep a track of research and diversity headlines from around the world. Out of 73 news items relating to gender diversity so far this year only 6 touch on ethnic diversity. A bit depressing.
Football may grab the headlines but I don't think our leading businesses are doing any better. And at least football is fun to watch... unless you're a Leeds fan of course, which I am.
Ben Black
