Diversity and inclusion: changing the race ratio

Full transcript below

Introduction

Thank you, Mary-Ann.

And welcome back to day two of the CBI’s 2020 diversity and inclusion conference.

Now, in my job, people often ask me whether the world of work has changed during my career. They want to know – has it improved? Is it harder to start a business today than in the past?

My answer is this: when I came here to study from India in the early 1980s, as a 19-year-old, my friends and family in India told me that if I decided to stay and work in Britain after my studies, I would never get to the top.

They said: as a foreigner, I wouldn’t be allowed to get to the top. And back then, I’m ashamed to say, they were absolutely right. At that time, in the 80s, when I came here there was – without a doubt – a gla