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SHARING SUCCESS FOR A MORE INCLUSIVE FUTURE Sarah Garrett MBE founded the Ethnicity Awards to amplify positive change for ethnic minority people in Britain
The Ethnicity Awards with Official Partner, HSBC UK, is an annual celebration that recognises and champions heroes from Black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds who are making change and progressing equality in their respective fields. The nominated ‘Top 10’ lists include leaders from the business, charity, community and celebrity worlds. Winners are decided by public vote for most categories with the exception of the business categories, which are evidence-based and judged by a panel of diversity experts. It’s been 18 months since the murder of George Floyd, during which time we’ve seen a global discourse around racial equality. These conversations have been difficult, but necessary; highlighting the many ways that the Black, Asian, and Ethnic Minority community have been,
and continue to be, failed by a system that wasn’t designed for them. In addition to exposing healthcare inequalities, the pandemic also brought with it a worrying resurgence in anti-Asian racism. Attacks, assaults, and threats to both east Asian individuals and east Asian-owned businesses tripled. Meanwhile, in March 2021, the government released its highly controversial and widely criticised ‘Race Report’, which claimed that institutional and systemic racism no longer exist in the UK. UN officials branded the report as “an attempt to normalize white supremacy”, and at least 20 of the businesses who were thanked for their contribution to the report, including NHS Trusts, police forces, charities, academic institutions and private sector companies, have since distanced themselves from its findings. As an ethnic-minority-owned company that works to advocate for people of colour in the workplace, it’s been a bittersweet year. Despite the moments
of frustration felt by the ethnic minority community, we’ve been thankful for the organisations that have used this as an opportunity to hold themselves accountable and respond with increased transparency in their diversity and inclusion practices. Equally as important have been the celebrities and campaigners, who have used their platforms to publicly champion racial equality, often leaving them vulnerable to racist trolling. The Ethnicity Awards are so proud to spotlight the incredible individuals and organisations that have broken down barriers with their advocacy. There’s a wealth of both role models and best practice to be found in the Top 10 shortlist, listed on the following pages. In the business category, Top 10 Employer Lloyds Banking Group was the first major bank to voluntarily publish their Ethnicity Pay Gap - a trailblazing move that truly refocuses the bank’s aims to improve ethnic diversity in the workplace. Meanwhile HSBC UK’s internal ethnic minority network group, Embrace, has been working with senior leaders to
engage and influence HSBC UK’s policy and culture from the top-down. It is these kinds of initiatives that can help us to tackle the systematic racism which is still very much at play in many corporate environments. In the Top 10 Inspirational Personality category, model and actress Naomi Campbell has long been outspoken about her experience of racial bias in the fashion industry and has been both an activist, and inspiration for many Black, Asian, and Ethnic Minority people. Role models such as Arlo Parks, Naga Munchetty, Alex Scott MBE and Sadiq Khan continue to push for better representation in the public eye. We’re proud to have them as our nominees. The Ethnicity Awards 2021 Top 10 shortlist represents such a range of ethnically, culturally, and religiously diverse organisations and individuals. Celebrating these champions and allies allows us to raise awareness of the many issues that still face these communities today, whilst simultaneously highlighting the trailblazing work that they have done to promote the ethnicity agenda.