Andy Nicol, CEO of ABSTRACT, explains what this means for businesses and why it is an important milestone.

This really is music to our ears, as the UK is leading the world in D&I roles. We have been championing the virtues of working within a diverse team for over a decade. The different pre-conceptions, experiences and priorities meld together to help businesses to undertake critical thinking and decision making in a measured and holistic way. 

Between August 2018 and August 2019, online job postings for diversity and inclusion roles soared. Glassdoor saw a 30% rise in the US and a massive 106% rise in the UK. Searches by jobseekers are up by 35% in the US and 19% in the UK. These roles include D&I Directors, D&I Programme Managers, D&I Consultants and Diversity Officers, to name a few. However, more notably, according to this article in Personnel Today, the UK has seen a 58% increase in the number of diversity and inclusion (D&I) roles available over the past five years, and many of the top D&I roles are being created at a senior level.

It is fair to say that over the last few years we have globally come together to demonstrate that we are no longer prepared to tolerate injustice, inequality and tyranny. The phenomenal rise of the BLM movement, the protests for George Floyd, the Harvey Weinstein and Jeffrey Epstein cases, the #MeToo campaign and so many more examples prove that people want a fairer and better world.

This is the same in business, people want to buy ethically sourced, sustainably made products and services. People want to work for a business that they believe in and that believes in them. So, employers should ensure their diversity and inclusion commitments are the “central anchor” to their plans as a “new era” of work begins to emerge, said Yvonne Smyth, group head of equality, diversity and inclusion at recruitment firm Hays.

If businesses want to attract exceptional workers and clients, they need to walk the walk of a fair, open, trusting, ethical and collaborative employer. What better way than by having a workforce that celebrates and represents the diversity of our society. Race, gender, age, physical and mental health, all these elements together make businesses stronger, more resilient and better placed to thrive in the current and future global community.