Lloyds Banking Group becomes first FTSE 100 firm to set ethnic diversity target

Lloyds Banking Group is to be the first FTSE 100 group to set a formal target to make its senior staff more ethnically diverse.

The group has set a target of making eight per cent of its senior management black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME). Currently 5.3 per cent of the people who hold these roles are from BAME backgrounds.

Lloyds also said it eventually aims to reflect the ethnic makeup of its customers, 10 per cent of whom are not white by ensuring 10 per cent of the global workforce is from a BAME background by 2020. Currently 8.3 per cent of the 70,000 people in the group’s workforce are defined as BAME.

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“What gets measured gets done and we are confident we can meet our diversity goals with the right focus and determination,” said Fiona Cannon, Lloyds’ director of responsible business and inclusion.

“We recognise that companies with diverse management teams perform better and have made a public commitment to create a truly inclusive workforce. It is our ambition to better reflect the customers and communities which we serve.”

The targets compare to current estimates of ethnic diversity among the UK workforce which comprises 12 per cent BAME workers.

The move follows a report last year which urged FTSE 100 companies to improve ethnic diversity on boards.

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