The question was also first asked about female- only development programmes. And the answer is similar. It is ultimately to do with under-representation. Black and Ethnic Minority people are significantly under-represented in most organisations at every level, compared with the local or national demographic and benchmark data. The figure falls off even more significantly the higher you go up the organisation.

The fact is that Black and Ethnic Minority employees do not experience the same rate of promotion or progression relative to non-Black and Ethnic Minority colleagues so there is something happening within organizations that is screening and filtering Black and Ethnic Minority employees out, at a disproportionate rate, of leadership development and progression. Whilst the organization implements programmes to address culture, inclusion and respect, support for and working specifically with Black and Ethnic Minority colleagues to understand factors and prepare them for effectiveness at higher levels and support their progression is also vital to address.