Mon 03 Nov 2025
By Dods Events Diversity & Inclusion
Supporting ethnic minorities into leadership remains crucial — not only for fairness, but also for strengthening diversity and inclusion, which continue to deliver tangible benefits for organisations.
A diverse leadership team brings a range of perspectives, experiences, and ideas to the table, leading to stronger decision-making and more effective problem-solving. These benefits are particularly significant in public sector organisations, where leaders who reflect the diversity of the communities they serve are better placed to understand, engage with, and respond to different needs and priorities.
Progress on diversity has been steady but slow. Official data shows that the Civil Service workforce broadly reflects the UK’s working population — 54.2% of civil servants are women, 14.3% are from ethnic minority backgrounds, and 13.6% are disabled. However, there remains work to do to ensure that this diversity is fully represented at senior levels.
According to the latest Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Dashboard, while there are now more ethnic minority staff in the Civil Service than ever before, they make up just 9.3% of those at Grade 6 level and only 8.7% within the Senior Civil Service.
Driving Change through Leadership
Addressing this challenge is at the heart of the Ethnic Minorities into Leadership London conference, which brings together current and aspiring leaders to explore how individuals and organisations can accelerate progress. The event features inspirational speakers and executive coaches who share lived experiences, practical advice, and strategies to help peers overcome barriers, build networks, and advance into leadership.
The next Ethnic Minorities into Leadership London conference takes place on 18 November — register to attend the day and be part of the conversation.
Focus on Recruitment
One of those driving change is Brian Stanislas, Senior Inclusive Practice Lead, Civil Service HR (Cabinet Office). Speaking at a previous conference, he outlined several initiatives aimed at improving the representation of ethnic minorities in the Senior Civil Service. These initiatives support delivery of the 31 actions set out in the Civil Service Diversity & Inclusion Strategy and include measures to upskill ethnic minority staff and improve visibility of recruitment opportunities.
From the META Programme (part of the Future Leaders Scheme) to the Leadership College for Government and the Executive Leadership resources on the Civil Service Careers website, these initiatives are helping ethnic minority staff prepare for and succeed in senior roles.
Stanislas emphasised the importance of data and evidence in understanding representation and tracking progress.
“We are developing an assurance framework to track, monitor, and map delivery of these 31 actions,” he said.
Powered by the Government Recruitment Information Database (GRID), this framework uses non-personalised data to identify trends and gaps in recruitment — capturing valuable insights about applicants from ethnic minorities, women, disabled people, LGBT+ staff, and older workers. This data-driven approach supports fairer representation from all backgrounds, voices, and regions across the UK.
Actions, Not Words
Former Senior Civil Servant Bernadette Thompson OBE, now Director of People and Culture at North Middlesex University Hospital, has spoken at Ethnic Minorities into Leadership a few times. A recurring theme in her contributions has been the importance of: “Actions, not words.”
During her address, Thompson noted that while the Civil Service Race Forum remains an active cross-government network, many departmental race networks continue to face challenges — from increased scrutiny to concerns about how conversations on race are managed. She reminded delegates that creating real change requires collective effort: allies, senior leaders, teams, and organisations all have a role to play.
The Ethnic Minorities into Leadership conference offers an opportunity to explore these issues in depth — through presentations, interactive workshops, 1-2-1 spot mentoring, networking sessions and an awards ceremony celebrating success stories, the event empowers attendees to build confidence and shape lasting change.
View the agenda and register to attend on 18 November to be part of shaping a more inclusive future for public sector leadership.
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