At Board Apprentice Global, we have felt shock, sadness and fury over the death of George Floyd and the inadequate reaction to it from some leaders. We must stop bias, prejudice, discrimination and the racism that we see all too often. We acknowledge the pain that many underestimated communities, who are also underrepresented and underserved, face on a regular basis.

The Covid-19 global pandemic has also highlighted the increasing disproportionality, inequality and injustice for these communities. This has been magnified by the death of George Floyd and the underlying, historical and continuing systemic racism that many Black and other Non-White communities face globally.

More than statements we need stronger leadership, direct intervention (as the market and culture have failed to ensure fairness, merit and quality) and more action to ensure access to opportunity.

Nearly 120 years ago the motto “Deeds not Words” was adopted by Emmeline Pankhurst as the slogan of the Women’s Social and Political Union, which aimed to secure the right to vote for all women. This motto is more than relevant today given the continued challenges of inequality, injustice, disproportionality and lack of opportunity faced by these communities.

We need individuals and organisations to step-up, sponsor, donate, support and scale the impact of other individuals and organisations aiming to help these communities that suffer from bias, prejudice, discrimination and, as we see yet again, racism.

At Board Apprentice Global, we have always aimed and continue to address some of the challenges in our own board composition and with the programmes we deliver to ensure quality, representation and impact (as below).
1) A representative and diverse board
-Our board is 57% female (vs 51% UK population) and 43% Non-White (vs 14% UK population)
2) Beneficiaries and a board-ready pipeline that is diverse
-Of our board-ready apprentices: 70% are female and 30% are Non-White
3) Apprentices who value the experience gained from us
-100% of apprentices speak very highly of their experience with us, their host board and impact of the programme. This is evidenced by the Net Promoter Score of +86 (on a scale of -100 to +100).
4) Diversifying apprentices who progress to board roles
-70% of our apprentices, on their own volition, are appointed to a board within a year of their time with us. This is helped given the navigation, sponsorship, skills and networks acquired through their time with us at Board Apprentice Global.

If you, as a board and/or a director, would like to do something practical, then please sign up your board to host, help develop and provide the opportunity for these high-calibre board-ready diverse individuals.

The board of directors of Board Apprentice Global – 7th June 2020

For more information and media queries please contact Dowshan Humzah