Business Leaders Warn Against Labour's Boardroom Quota Policy

Britain’s business lobby has warned against the UK adopting quota policies for women and ethnic minorities in the work place. The idea of quotas was put forward by the Shadow Justice Secretary Sadiq Khan, who said that Labour could legislate to force firms to be more diverse.

According to the Daily Express, Khan believes the level of women and ethnic minorities in senior city jobs is “truly disgraceful”, as more than half of FTSE 100 companies have no ethnic minority directors. 

A spokesman for the Institute of Directors admitted that we needed to increase the number of ethnic minorities in top jobs but claimed quotas were “not the way to achieve this goal.” The IoD says that ethnic minorities should be encouraged into business careers, rather than forced in through quotas.

The IoD told Breitbart London: “The IoD fervently believes that diversity of all kinds improves board decision-making, but we are equally certain that legislation is not the way to achieve this goal. The voluntary approach supported by Lord Davies’ review of women on boards seems to be working, with women now holding
21% of FTSE 100 board positions, up from 13 percent in 2011. Clearly there is a long way to go, and the IoD is working hard to improve the executive pipeline to make sure this progress continues. 

“While politicians might also be attracted to quotas for ethnic minority representation, we would urge caution. Mandatory targets for board appointments would do nothing to tackle the underlying problems. The IoD is focussing its efforts on supporting black and ethnic minority entrepreneurs so that they can become the business leaders of the future.”

Speaking about quotas Marina Yannakoudakis MEP said: “Norway, which does have a 40 percent quota for women on boards, has seen the rise of so-called ‘trophy directors’ or ‘golden skirts’ and yet still does not have a sustainable pipeline of women to fill executive positions.”

Breitbart London has previously noted that Sadiq Khan is a controversial politician and friend to the self-confessed terrorist Babar Ahmed. Khan spent years supporting Ahmed’s fight not to be deported from Britain to face terror charges in the US, but when Ahmed arrived he immediately pleaded guilty.

He is believed to have befriended Khan when they were teenagers in South London.