Commission for Race Equality in the Workplace

The National Employment Panel was asked to set up a Business Commission for Race Equality in the Workplace, by the then Chancellor, Gordon Brown, to recommend policies and practical measures to increase recruitment, retention and progression for ethnic minorities in the private sector.
The Business Commission was Chaired by Gordon Pell from RBS and their report report, entitled “60/76” can be found here This title was chosen because it was felt important to get one striking fact into as many minds as possible. 76% of white people in the working age group have a job; only 60% of working age people from ethnic minorities are in employment.This gap has remained largely unchanged for a generation. It is unjust, socially divisive, and bad for the economy.

The Government responded to the Business Commissions recommendations in July 2008 and that
reply can be found here.

Since then Government has been working on taking forward the recommendations and a letter from Jim Knight, Chair of the Ethnic Minority Employment Task Force and Minister of State for Employment and Welfare Reform to the Chancellor, updating him on progress can be found here. Good progress has been made, particularly given the weaker economic circumstance, but much more work is still to be done and the Ethnic Minority Employment Task Force will continue to lead this work across Government. The Idea guide can be found here.