30 Improving BAME accessibility to senior management and leadership roles

Due to the poor representation of Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic (BAME) colleagues at a senior level, in the NHS in 2015, the Workforce Race Equality was introduced.1 At this time the NHS was the fifth largest employer in the world, hiring over 1.2 million people. Fast forwarding a few years BAME employees made up 18.94% of this workforce, 11.2% of which held senior positions, including Band 8A and higher. These statistics were further affected by geographical locations with places like Newcastle reporting above 1% of BAME employees in a senior position.2 This vast underrepresentation of the workforce at a higher level suggests poor access to senior positions by this cohort, and strongly suggests the topics discussed and decisions made to be poorly reflective of the collective requirements of those affected. This may also go on to affect the zeal and enthusiasm of employees wishing to pursue senior positions. This article aims to look further at the evolving diversity within the NHS and opportunities available to BAME employees in order to improve accessibility to more senior roles. Bibliography 1. Randhawa M. ‘Closing the gap on BME representation in NHS leadership: not rocket science,’ The Kings Fund, 16 March 2018. [Online]. Available: https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/blog/2018/03/bme-representation-nhs-leadership. [Accessed 9 July 2020]. 2. NHS Improvement. ‘A Model Employer: Increasing Black and Minority Ethnic Representation at Senior Levels Across the NHS,’January 2019. [Online]. Available: https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/wres-leadership-strategy.pdf. [Accessed 9 July 2020]. 3. Forbes. ‘The World’s Biggest Employers,’ Forbes, 31 July 2015.