Plan to boost black and Asian women leadership roles

Estella Edwards is launching the covenant to boost the number of black and Asian women in leadership roles in the Midlands

A charity leader has created a covenant to boost the leadership prospects of black and Asian women.

Estella Edwards is behind the new initiative which asks companies and public sector bodies to commit to providing such opportunities.

Only 4.6% of UK leadership roles are held by people of black, Asian or minority ethnic backgrounds, Office of National Statistics figures show.

The project is being formally launched at Aston University on Tuesday.

Bosses from across the public and private sectors, plus charities, will be asked to promote the new programme and become "beacons of good practice", while recognising the impact of racial trauma.

The youngest daughter of two Caribbean immigrants, Ms Edwards has spent years of her own working life helping break down career barriers for others.

"Birmingham has meant a lot to me because when my parents came to this country they came to help shape it," the former social work assistant said.

Now CEO of The Future Melting Pot charity, she added: "I always speak up and I guess there was a time when my confidence was not there because of my own experiences in work."

She has already received the backing of the Social Mobility Pledge Consortium, Government Minister for Social Mobility Mims Davies MP, as well as local NHS and university leaders.

The programme launches at Aston University on Tuesday

She said the UK's workforce lacked diversity at the top and, making reference to leading tech firms in particular, said black and Asian women comprised just 2% of senior executive teams.

She stated the covenant could not just be a "talking shop" or it would fail.

"When we talk about context," she said, "then national and local data is stark. Women who are black or Asian are not in many leadership positions."