Only one in three employees in the UK believes their organisation is comfortable discussing race, with confidence falling back to levels last seen more than a decade ago, as new research reveals persistent gaps in progression, mentoring, sponsorship and workplace support.
Confidence in workplace conversations about race has fallen sharply, despite more senior leaders publicly championing equality and fairness, according to new research from Business in the Community (BITC). Its new Race at Work 2025 – Charter Reset One-Year On report, based on research conducted by YouGov, finds that just 33% of employees now believe their organisation is comfortable talking about race, down from 41% in 2021.
A decade ago, that figure stood at 37% in 2015, meaning confidence has effectively fallen back to levels last seen more than 10 years ago. The findings reveal a broader disconnect between employees feeling included and having equitable access to opportunity. Among Black Londoners, 85% say they feel included in their team and eight in 10 feel valued, yet only six in 10 believe managers treat everyone equally when it comes to career progression.
At the same time, 46% have no mentor and around two-thirds have no sponsor, despite 45% saying they would like a mentor and 43% wanting a sponsor. The report, launched during Black History Month, warns employers that creating a sense of belonging is not enough if employees continue to face barriers to progression, influential networks and career-enhancing opportunities.
CONFIDENCE IN TALKING ABOUT RACE HAS FALLEN
BITC’s latest findings show that progress on workplace conversations about race has gone into reverse. Employee confidence that organisations were comfortable talking about race rose from 37% in 2015 to 41% in 2021, but has now dropped to 33%. Confidence is even lower when other aspects of inequality are discussed. Only 26% of employees believe their organisation is comfortable talking about social class, while 27% say the same about socio-economic background.
The findings are particularly striking because discomfort around workplace conversations on race is not new. Back in 2021, Fair Play Talks reported that 65% of UK professionals were nervous about using the wrong or inappropriate language when discussing race at work. More than half, 56%, also said they were uncomfortable using terms including Black, Asian and ethnic minority.
Five years later, greater awareness still appears not to have translated into greater confidence. At the same time, 53% of employees say their organisation has at least one senior leader or champion actively promoting equality and fairness, rising to 61% in large organisations.
For Sandra Kerr CBE, Race Equality Director at Business in the Community, that disconnect should concern employers. “These findings should serve as a wake-up call for employers. While it is encouraging to see more senior leaders actively championing fairness and equality, the decline in confidence around conversations about race in the workplace shows there is still much more to do,” stated Kerr.
“Young people are telling us they want more than statements of intent. They want practical support through mentoring, sponsorship, professional connections, and visible role models who show that progression is possible. For many young and ethnically diverse employees, talent is not the issue. Access, visibility, and connection remain significant barriers. Employers that invest in mentoring, sponsorship, and inclusive workplace cultures will be better placed to attract, retain, and develop diverse talent,” she added.
BLACK EMPLOYEES FEEL INCLUDED, BUT PROGRESSION REMAINS UNEQUAL
Perhaps one of the report’s most revealing findings is the gap between belonging and progression. Among Black Londoners:
- 85% feel included within their team
- Eight in 10 feel valued
- Yet only six in 10 believe managers treat everyone equally when it comes to career progression
That suggests employers need to look beyond headline measures of belonging. Employees can feel welcomed by colleagues while still experiencing unequal access to promotions, influential assignments, senior decision-makers, sponsorship and career-enhancing work. That distinction has also emerged strongly through recent Fair Play Talks interviews with Black professionals. Jesse Owusu, CEO and Co-Founder of CORD, recently told Fair Play Talks that organisations need to examine what actually happens to opportunity after recruitment.
As he put it: “Who gets hired, who gets promoted and who controls the money?” Owusu argued that organisations can appear diverse at entry level while becoming considerably less representative closer to senior leadership, budget ownership and decision-making.
NEARLY HALF OF BLACK LONDONERS HAVE NO MENTOR
BITC’s findings suggest those progression challenges are being compounded by significant gaps in mentoring and sponsorship. Among Black Londoners:
- 46% have no mentor
- Around two-thirds have no sponsor
- 45% would like a mentor
- 43% would like a sponsor
The distinction between mentoring and sponsorship matters. A mentor can provide advice, guidance and perspective. A sponsor can use their influence to put someone forward for opportunities, promotions and exposure to senior decision-makers. Owusu made that distinction in his recent interview: “Mentorship is advice, and advice is useful. Sponsorship is different.”
The new BITC report reaches a similar conclusion. Richard Iferenta, Chair of Business in the Community’s Race Equality Leadership Team and formerly Partner and Vice Chair at KPMG, said: “Everyone deserves access to good work and the opportunity to fulfil their potential, regardless of their background. Mentorship and sponsorship can play a vital and transformational role, helping to build people’s confidence, develop their careers, and allowing them to benefit from advocates who can open doors and facilitate their progression. Employers play a key role in making these opportunities available to everyone.”
NETWORKS CAN CREATE PROXIMITY TO OPPORTUNITY
Professional networks can also play an important role in closing that gap. In Beyond Events: The Real Impact of Employee Resource Groups, Lloyds Banking Group’s Philip Hocking explored how employee networks can give people access to relationships, visibility and information they may otherwise struggle to obtain.
He described an “ecosystem around opportunity” that includes knowing roles exist, meeting people already doing those jobs, being encouraged to apply and having opportunities to demonstrate abilities beyond an employee’s current remit. As Hocking put it: “ERGs can create that proximity.” That can be particularly important for employees who enter organisations without established professional networks.
VISIBLE ROLE MODELS CAN CHANGE PERSPECTIVES
Visible role models can matter too. In his latest interview, Nana Agyemang, described how the lack of senior Black role models earlier in his career affected his perception of his own possibilities. He said: “I also had a lack of visible role models at the more senior levels of the bank for a while.”
Joining Barclays’ Black Professionals Resource Group helped him expand his network and see greater possibilities for progression. But visibility alone is not enough. The new BITC findings reinforce the need for employers to translate networks, role models and development programmes into real access to career opportunities.
YOUNGER EMPLOYEES FACE GREATER HARASSMENT RISKS
The report raises particular concerns about younger people entering the workplace. Employees aged 18 to 24 are more likely than other age groups to report witnessing or experiencing both racist and sexual harassment, while also being less likely to know how to report concerns.
BITC argues employers need to provide clearer routes into employment while ensuring young workers understand where they can safely raise concerns. That includes expanding:
- Work experience
- Apprenticeships
- Mentoring and sponsorship
- Professional networks
- Access to role models
- Trusted reporting routes for discrimination and harassment
YOUNG PEOPLE WANT MORE THAN STATEMENTS
Younger workers’ expectations of employers are also changing. A recent survey found that 65% of job seekers believe employers should take a stand on important social issues, with diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging ranked highest at 37%, followed by racism at 35%. Four in 10 said they were less likely to apply to companies that remained silent.
BITC’s latest findings suggest employees increasingly want action behind those words. As Kerr notes, younger workers are asking for mentoring, sponsorship, professional connections and visible role models, not simply statements of intent.
ACCESS TO WORK EXPERIENCE
The executive summary also reveals significant regional differences in access to early career opportunities. Across the UK, only 35% of employees say their organisation offers formal work experience, while 42% say their employer has at least one apprentice But access varies substantially by region. In London, 61% of employees said their organisation offered formal and/or informal work experience for young people, compared with just 42% in Wales.
Apprenticeship provision also varies. Almost half of employees in the West Midlands, 49%, said their organisation had at least one apprentice, compared with 32% in Wales.
BITC argues that where someone lives should not determine whether they can access the experiences, networks and career opportunities that help people get into good work.
RACISM AT WORK EXTENDS BEYOND ONE COMMUNITY
Although the report has been launched during Black History Month and contains important findings on Black Londoners, workplace racism affects employees across many racial and ethnic communities. Black History Month provides an important opportunity to focus on the experiences, contributions and continuing inequalities affecting Black people. But race inclusion cannot be treated as either a once-a-year conversation or an issue affecting only one community.
Fair Play Talks previously reported that 66% of employees from marginalised racial and ethnic groups internationally had experienced racism during their careers, with 52% experiencing racism in their current job. Workplace harassment, including racist jokes, slurs and derogatory comments, was among the most common manifestations.
Separate TUC research found the unemployment rate for Black and minority ethnic workers was 2.2 times that of White workers, at 6.9% compared with 3.2%. And more recently, rising racial abuse in the NHS highlighted a wider UK workplace problem, reinforcing the persistence of racism across sectors.
RACE, ETHNICITY AND RELIGION CAN INTERSECT
Employers also need to recognise that race, ethnicity and religion can overlap. Fair Play Talks reported rising Islamophobia and antisemitism in UK workplaces, with 36% of Muslim employees and 47% of Jewish employees surveyed believing discrimination had increased following the escalation of the Israel-Gaza conflict.
Around 24% of Muslim workers and 39% of Jewish workers reported experiencing overt or subtle discrimination. Yet only 16% of Muslim employees and 29% of Jewish workers had reported incidents to HR.
Broader research has also exposed discomfort among employees of different faiths. A study of 6,315 workers found that 47% of employees belonging to a faith did not feel comfortable discussing the religious festivals they celebrate at work.
Almost a third, 32%, had experienced a negative reaction after expressing their religious identity. Together, the findings show why workplace inclusion needs to recognise how race, ethnicity, religion and other aspects of identity intersect.
MANAGERS NEED SKILLS TO HAVE DIFFICULT CONVERSATIONS
If employers want employees to feel more comfortable discussing race, manager capability is crucial. BITC says progress requires inclusive manager capability, alongside leadership accountability, transparent data and visible reporting routes.
Managers need practical support to discuss racial inequality respectfully, respond constructively when concerns are raised and challenge inappropriate behaviour. There is already evidence of a broader capability problem. Recent research found that only four in 10 managers felt adequately prepared for difficult workplace conversations.
While that study covered broader workplace pressures, including AI anxiety and organisational change, it reinforces a wider point: employers cannot expect managers to navigate increasingly difficult human conversations without giving them the skills and confidence to do so. Race should not become another subject managers avoid because they are afraid of saying the wrong thing.
TRUSTED HARASSMENT REPORTING LINES
BITC’s finding that younger employees may be more exposed to harassment while being less likely to know how to report it should concern employers. Effective systems need to be visible, accessible and trusted. Employees should understand:
- What constitutes unacceptable behaviour
- How and where to raise concerns
- Whether they can bypass their immediate manager
- How confidentiality will be handled
- What protection exists against retaliation
- What happens after a complaint is made
A zero-tolerance statement carries little weight if people do not believe their organisation will act. That connects to a wider issue highlighted during National Inclusion Week 2026: trust is built through what organisations do after employees speak up, not simply by encouraging people to contribute to listening exercises.
POOR UNDERSTANDING OF RACIAL INEQUALITIES
BITC also warns that employers remain poorly equipped to understand racial inequalities within their own organisations. Only 54% of employees said their organisation captured ethnicity data in 2024, leaving significant room for improvement ahead of proposed ethnicity and disability pay-gap reporting requirements.
Without reliable data, organisations may struggle to identify differences in recruitment, pay, progression, retention and employee experience. Yet this is not a new recommendation. Back in 2021, Fair Play Talks reported on CIPD and BITC guidance designed to improve race inclusion at work. BITC’s Race at Work Charter was already urging employers to:
- appoint an executive sponsor for race;
- capture ethnicity data and publicise progress;
- commit at board level to zero tolerance of harassment and bullying;
- make equality the responsibility of leaders and managers; and
- support ethnic minority career progression.
Five years later, many of the same priorities remain central to the latest findings. The challenge is therefore increasingly less about knowing what good practice looks like and more about turning long-standing commitments into measurable progress.
RACE EQUALITY CANNOT BE LEFT TO HR OR EMPLOYEE NETWORKS
BITC’s message to employers is particularly clear. Race equality should be owned across the leadership system, not left solely to HR teams or employee networks. The report calls for organisations to combine leadership accountability, transparent data, trusted reporting routes, inclusive manager capability and structured development opportunities.
The Charter Reset also calls on employers to move beyond intention towards “visible, measurable action”, including structured routes into employment, better ethnicity data, prevention of harassment, stronger mentoring and sponsorship, progression from allyship to solidarity and fairer supply chains.
This matters because employee networks can create community, connections and opportunity, but they cannot carry responsibility for fixing systemic inequality on behalf of the business.
BLACK LONDONERS STILL FACE BARRIERS TO PROGRESSION
The research was formally launched on 6 October at Black History Month: Honouring our Communities and Driving Change, in collaboration with the Greater London Authority. Dr Debbie Weekes-Bernard, Deputy Mayor for Communities and Social Justice, said: “It is concerning that Black Londoners continue to face barriers to their progression at work and don’t feel suitably supported in their roles. London’s diversity is our greatest strength and it’s hugely important for our society and economy that everyone is given a chance to shine. That’s why the Mayor has stepped forward with a series of programmes designed to support Londoners from underrepresented groups into work and continues to champion all aspects of our wonderful diversity, as we build a fairer and more prosperous London for everyone.”
The Mayor has introduced programmes including a £147.2 million Inclusive Talent Strategy with London Councils, an Inclusive Talent Brokerage and the Workforce Integration Network. Research cited by BITC suggests supporting more underrepresented Londoners into the labour market could bring 290,000 more people into work and generate £17.4 billion in economic benefit.
WHAT EMPLOYERS SHOULD DO
BITC is calling on employers to turn commitments into systemic, measurable action.
1. Train managers to talk about race
Managers need practical support to discuss race respectfully, challenge inappropriate behaviour and respond when employees raise concerns. Avoidance is unlikely to create trust.
2. Turn mentoring into sponsorship
Mentoring is valuable, but employees also need influential people willing to advocate for them. Employers should examine who receives sponsorship, stretch assignments, senior exposure and access to career-enhancing opportunities.
3. Expand access to professional networks
Networks, employee resource groups and cross-business initiatives can give employees access to relationships and information they may not otherwise have.
4. Create fairer routes into work
With only 35% of employees saying their organisation offers formal work experience and 42% reporting at least one apprentice, employers can do more to create structured pathways into good work.
5. Address regional inequality
Access to work experience and apprenticeships varies significantly by region. Employers operating nationally should consider whether opportunities are genuinely accessible outside major cities.
6. Make reporting systems easy to use
Young employees in particular need to know how to report racism, discrimination and harassment, and trust that concerns will be addressed properly.
7. Measure progression, not just representation
Employers should examine who is promoted, who reaches leadership, who gets important assignments and who leaves. A diverse intake does not automatically create an equitable workplace.
8. Improve ethnicity data
Companies should strengthen voluntary self-identification, explain why data is being collected and demonstrate how it will be used.
9. Recognise intersectional experiences
Race, ethnicity, religion, gender, disability and socio-economic background can overlap. Employers need to understand that different communities can experience workplace exclusion in different ways.
10. Hold leaders accountable
Race equality should be owned across leadership – not delegated solely to HR or employee networks. Progress should ultimately be measured through recruitment, pay, progression, retention and employee experience.
FROM BELONGING TO OPPORTUNITY
Perhaps the clearest message in BITC’s latest research is that belonging alone is not enough. Most Black Londoners surveyed do feel included. Eighty-five per cent feel included in their teams and eight in 10 feel valued.
But only six in 10 believe managers treat everyone equally when it comes to career progression. Nearly half have no mentor. Around two-thirds lack a sponsor. And younger workers remain more exposed to harassment while having less knowledge of how to report it.
Ten years of Race at Work research also shows that progress is not guaranteed. BITC has captured 78,931 employee voices over the decade, yet confidence in talking about race has returned to roughly where it was when the research began. The message for employers is therefore not simply to make workplaces feel more inclusive. Employees also need access to opportunity, influential relationships, fair progression, trusted reporting systems and leaders willing to be held accountable for outcomes.
As the recent experiences shared with Fair Play Talks by Jesse Owusu, Philip Hocking and Nana Agyemang demonstrate, many organisations already have talented people in their workforce. The bigger question is whether those employees are being seen, connected, sponsored and given the opportunity to progress. BITC’s latest report suggests employers now need to move beyond good intentions to what it describes as visible, measurable action.
Read the full BITC report here.
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