Bridge Group Chief Executive appointed to taskforce
Bridge Group Chief Executive joins force with government-backed taskforce
We are delighted to announce that our Chief Executive, Nik Miller has joined the recently launched government-backed taskforce to boost socio-economic diversity at senior levels across the UK.
Nik joins a group of 29 cross-sector leaders from the financial and professional services industry who have today (22nd March) been appointed to the independent socio-economic taskforce, recently launched by HM Treasury and BEIS and run by City of London Corporation.
The taskforce, drawn from businesses, sector bodies and regulators aims to boost socio-economic diversity at senior levels across the UK. The new taskforce members come from different subsectors, regions and backgrounds. They will be joined by six observers who will also be attending the high-profile taskforce meetings.
The group’s mission is to challenge the lack of career progression for those coming from non-professional backgrounds and to explore the intersections with other protected characteristics, including gender and race.
Research from the Bridge Group recently showed that 89% of senior roles in financial services were occupied by people from professional backgrounds (defined by parental occupation at 14) – nearly three times the UK working population, with those from lower socio-economic backgrounds taking 25% longer to progress. This gap could not be explained by performance and increased to 32% for people from those backgrounds who also identified as black.
Each member of the taskforce shares the same vision for equity of progression - where high performance is valued over ‘fit and polish’.
Their tasks include:
informing - shaping the taskforce’s work
influencing - raising awareness of the need to address socio-economic diversity and showcasing case studies of lived experiences
improving - boosting socio-economic diversity at senior levels within their own organisations and beyond
Further information on the Taskforce
Full membership of the taskforce will be finalised in due course. It will be supported by PwC, Deloitte and MyKindaFuture. The City of London Corporation will report back on the findings of the taskforce by November 2022, with the first formal meeting due to take place in May 2021.