On the evening of March, the 12th we welcomed members, ministers and partners to a parliamentary reception, in partnership with Auto Trader. This was to mark the release of the 2025 Parker Review Annual Report and celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Parker review, a government backed business led review into ethnic diversity in the boardroom.
Hosted by Change the Race Ratio’s president Lord Karan Bilimoria, guests heard from David Tyler the Parker Review Chair, Nathan Coe CEO of Auto Trader UK, Seema Malhotra MP, Equalities Minister and our Chair Sir Trevor Phillips.
Lord Karan Bilimoria welcomed our guests, and discussed how times have evolved since the launch of the campaign, where Chairs and CEOs from across the FTSE350 have embraced the voluntary targets and now have ethnic diversity representation on boards, seen as the norm and not the exception they once were. He highlighted the positive steps Change the Race Ratio’s members are taking continuing to show progress against our four core commitments of; publishing targets for racial and ethnic minority representation on boards, Exco and Exco-1, publishing ethnicity pay gap reporting and creating an inclusive culture. It highlighted again how all firms have a role to play in shifting the dialog on diversity for all talent to thrive in the workplace.
David Tyler, demonstrated that there is still more work to do, as the data from the Review and Change the Race Ratio’s Progress Report shows senior management ethnic diversity lags behind achievements made on boards, which is most striking in the under representation of black colleagues in leadership roles.
We had the pleasure of hearing from Seema Malhotra FRSA MP, Minister for Equalities, around the plans to introducing the Race and Disability Bill, which would make it mandatory for businesses with more than 250 staff to report on their ethnicity pay gap (EPG), drawing focus on any inequalities that may take place in the workplace. This will support businesses to make data led decisions and achieve higher levels of productivity and innovation.
Nathan Coe, addressed the business leaders in the room and shared the benefits and commercial advantage Auto Trader have seen from prioritising inclusion. He commented:
