BRC: Retail still lacking in the way of inclusion despite slight improvements

A new report by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) has outlined slight improvements in the UK’s retail sector in the way of diversity and inclusion, yet such elements remain tough to crack.

Together with The MBS Group, the BRC released a Diversity and Inclusion in UK Retail report, looking into areas such as gender, ethnicity and disability, among many other things, with the goal to drive change across the industry.

While the duo noted that there had been “significant progress” in the area of diversity over the last three years, it was “not ubiquitous across the industry”.

Despite the number of female board-level leaders rising from 32.6 percent in 2021 to 42.3 percent in 2024, 35 percent of retailers still have an all-white board, and over half have no ethnic diversity on their executive committees at all.

There was a positive uptick, however, in that the percentage of ethnic minority leaders on boards has risen from 4.5 percent to 12 percent from 2021 to the current year.

The BRC noted that inclusion remained the “nut to crack”, with retail employee sentiments towards the topic remaining relatively low, particularly regarding recognition.

There were some promising figures, however. 98 percent of retailers, for example, said they had a “co-ordinated D&I strategy in place”, while 67 percent said they now included social mobility in such plans, compared to 20 percent in 2021.

While noting that she was proud of the strides retailers have made in the three years since the report was first published, Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the BRC, said: “The progress made on diversity will only be meaningful and effective when it happens in tandem with a workforce where every employee feels happy and included.

“There needs to be greater focus on initiatives to change workplace culture to ensure we see this shift on inclusion. Only then will we complete our mission in creating a truly diverse and inclusive industry.”