If hospitality is ever going to solve its people problem, it needs to stop paying lip service to diversity.
The industry is far from being alone in having a gender and ethnicity problem. The fact that the European Union is considering imposing 40% board gender quotas on companies should demonstrate that it’s not just a British issue either.
But that’s no excuse for inaction. Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, may not be the most popular person with sections of the UK population, but she is right when she says: “Diversity is not only a matter of fairness. It also drives growth and innovation. The business case for having more women in leadership is clear.” This is not left wing ‘wokery’, it’s simply good business sense.
If the lack of women in top roles remains a problem, so does the welcome offered by business to those from the black and Asian communities – and yes that very much includes hospitality in Britain.
The Inside Hospitality Report published earlier this year found high levels of concern about the impact of racism in the workplace. The survey figures behind the report showed that 28% of Asian, 37% of black and 39% of mixed ethnicity respondents had experienced or witnessed racism in their current place of work.
Be Inclusive Hospitality, the organisation set up by the impressive Lorraine Copes to address diversity in the sector, launched the report, having collected over 1,000 responses from across the industry. Anonymous views and experiences were shared covering topics including careers in hospitality, racism, diversity, inclusion and education.
The report findings are stark. Black respondents, at 43%, were most likely to report that ethnicity has hindered career progression. Asian (37%) and mixed (28%) respondents reported similar resistance. In contrast, just 7% of white respondents believe this.
Asian and black senior leaders in the sector generally felt unsupported by their employers about career progression compared to their peers. While 38% of Asian senior leaders and 39% of black senior leaders said they felt they were ‘very well’ or ‘well’ supported that compared to two-thirds (65%) of white senior leaders.
While companies are taking steps to tackle the issues, it is far from all. Among respondents who had witnessed or experienced racism just 23% of Asian, 16% of black and 12% of mixed ethnicity employees said they had been offered wellbeing support, including on mental health.
Only one in five of all respondents had accessed workshops about anti-racism, race or language, even though there was a strong appetite to do so, with five in 10 stating that they would like to.
Copes, who has held senior procurement roles in companies including Corbin & King. Gordon Ramsay Restaurants and Shake Shack and now runs her own consultancy, says: “The time is now for the hospitality industry to stop and consider if it wants to be a sector where all employees and businesses can develop and build successful futures. Sadly, the findings confirm what I have observed over the past 20 years, which is there are barriers for progression for black, Asian and ethnic minorities to move upwards, and sector leaders should act now to remove them.”
Hospitality is locked in a battle for talent and ignoring large swathes of the population and their concerns seems blinkered at best and an act of wilful self-harm at worst.
Be Inclusive Hospitality, which has run workshops to over 500 hospitality leaders and delivered professional development and well-being initiatives throughout the hospitality sector, hopes the report will act as an industry resource, by building a comprehensive account of the current position on equity, diversity and inclusion.
And that brings us back to the gender gap. Hospitality has demonstrated that where there is a will it can improve matters. Gender inequality is now far less of an issue among front-line teams and up to GM level; it is with the next steps up to the boardroom where barriers remain.
Initiatives such as Plan B with its mentoring programme to support women move into the industry’s top jobs shows that the industry is responding. High profile companies like Greene King, Revolution Bars, The Restaurant Group and Gusto have now pledged support to launch the inaugural Plan B Conference on accelerating change this October.
If real change on diversity is to be achieved – whether it’s on gender, ethnicity, sexuality or disability – there will be a need for more strong role models across the sector, but perhaps more importantly it is for those with the most influence now, the ones at the top of businesses, and yes generally white males, to show they are committed to that change and willing to do something about it. It’s good business.
