Black male graduates in London are nearly twice as likely to be unemployed as their white counterparts, figures suggest.
According to the data from the ONS, in 2016 there was an unemployment rate of 18 per cent for black male graduates aged 16 to 24 in the capital. The rate for their white counterparts was 10 per cent.
More than 83,000 young men in London are from black and mixed black ethnic groups, making up about one in five of young men in the capital.
A spokesperson for the Department for Work and Pensions said:
“The employment rate for ethnic minorities is at a record high, with 80,000 more people in London finding work in the last year alone. We’ve set a target to increase BAME employment by 20% by 2020, and remain firmly committed to that,” they said.
Research by the National Audit Office (NAO) has found that along with Pakistani and Bangladeshi women, black men consistently have the lowest employment rates in the UK.
The report also shows that 86 per cent of the UK population believe that it is important for people at the very top of organisations to promote messages of diversity and inclusion.
The BBC contacted 50 of London’s 500 top graduate employers last year to question them on their levels of diversity.
Only eleven of the companies were were able to provide data relating to their employment of black men specifically. Out of those 11 organisations, only 30 out of 1,803 graduates in 2016 were black men.
The NHS leadership academy for trainee managers, was among those which did not recruit any black men. Barclays was one of the organisations which employed the highest percentage of black men, with nine out of 320.
Suki Sandhu, Founder and CEO of Audeliss reacts:
“There is a worrying diversity deficit at the very top of global organisations. Our research shows that as a result two-thirds of BAME people have no business role models.
“The BAME community is full of intelligent, creative and highly skilled individuals, but we need to show younger generations that they can succeed in business. Celebrating the achievements of diverse business leaders is a powerful tool in increasing the visibility of role models for younger people from minority ethnic backgrounds, and therefore helping to support the diverse leaders of tomorrow.”
Last year, it was reported that only 34 per cent of BAME respondents could recall one role model compared to 75 per cent of Caucasian respondents who could do the same.
Only 12 per cent of respondents cited any female BAME leaders, with 75 per cent of the named women working in entertainment – Oprah and Beyoncé are the only two women in the top 10 most readily recalled business leaders.
Rebecca joined the HRreview editorial team in January 2016. After graduating from the University of Sheffield Hallam in 2013 with a BA in English Literature, Rebecca has spent five years working in print and online journalism in Manchester and London. In the past she has been part of the editorial teams at Sleeper and Dezeen and has founded her own arts collective.
