Over the past decade there has been a small but welcome increase in the number of black and Asian middle managers in both the public and private sectors. But this trend is not reflected in the higher echelons of public sector management and there remains a disturbingly low level of black and Asian representation in senior management posts in both the civil service and in local government
In the civil service as a whole, the percentage of minority ethnic civil servants rose from 5.7% in 1997 to 8.3%% by 2007 and the present figure of 8.5% is regarded by the civil service as being "broadly representative" of the population as a whole. The main aim is to increase the stark under-representation in the Senior Civil Service to 5% by 2013. But over the same decade, the figures for senior black and Asian managers have remained at a dismal 3.5% and the figures for local authorities are even worse, with only 2.7% of all officers from an ethnic minority and an even lower figure for chief executives and executive directors.
Despite the uphill struggle, a few black and Asian candidates do make it into senior management. But at what cost?
Sixteen years ago, I researched black and Asian employees' perceptions of racial conflict at work in a London local authority. The key findings made grim reading. It was a common perception among respondents that their skin colour was sufficient to produce discriminatory responses from their employers, that they were consistently being overlooked for promotion in favour of less qualified white peers or sub-ordinates, and were not being given opportunities to lead on high profile projects. Other complaints included the marginalisation of their seniority and intellectual contributions; the undermining of their status by politicians, senior bureaucrats and sub-ordinates; hostile response to their attempts to challenge institutional racism; isolation and burn-out; and a lack of support. Management procedures were widely deemed ineffective in managing complaints of racism and discrimination and there was widespread use of the "divide and rule" tactic, favouring of one minority group over another, which encouraged inter-ethnic rivalry and the division of minority managers into the"acceptable" minorities: those willing to legitimise the organisation's status quo; and the others perceived as change agents, who were able to challenge those practices deemed racist.
So what has changed since then? I recently renewed connections with a number of people either directly involved in my research or employed in local government at that time. I also met a number of black and Asian senior managers, human resource executives,and independent advisers who contacted me with their perceptions and personal stories following the publication of my article on the exclusion of women of colour from the cultural sector (http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2009/mar/11/government-female-minority-appointments).
Sadly, all of them echoed the previous findings and most felt the situation had worsened. Many feel the 2000 amendment to the race relations act was limited to creating policies, leaving the practice and culture of organisations unchallenged. More dangerously, a culture of complacency among politicians and employers is perceived to have replaced the urgency for change witnessed in the 80s and 90s.
One person I spoke to parted company with the Senior Civil Service and is now a freelance consultant; but feels similar problems exist in the consultancy world. Another individual was considering taking formal action. These are not isolated incidents. There are many other similar stories which are not made public because employers choose to settle out of court.
Of course there are those, albeit fewer in number, keen to counter this negative perspective with positive tales of success. They dismiss the accusation that they are compliant or tokenistic by arguing that change can only be attained by being part of the system, even if it requires condoning poor race equality performance.
Four years ago, at a seminar about the state of minorities in the public sector, I heard an Asian senior civil servant whisper: "This is after all their country - we need to be grateful that we have these jobs". Perhaps she had forgotten that she was British too.
No one objects to those who have had positive experiences or wants to dismiss their achievements. But what many oppose is their collusion with politicians and employers in being presented as the ultimate voice for black and Asian managers, used to dismiss experience and evidence of racial inequalities.
Successive national and local governments which have tinkered with race equality and cultural diversity need to wake up to the fact that no amount of recruitment drives, rhetoric about community cohesion, workforce surveys, or parading selective role models, will create a racially diverse workforce until public sector employers are made accountable and action is taken to change management practices which feed invisible and overt discrimination against visible minorities, and develop new models responsive to the needs and talents of all citizens.
Clara Arokiasamy, director of Kalai, an international consultancy in organisation development, writes and comments on cultural diversity and human rights.
