The Parker Review was first commissioned in 2015 and set its first targets in 2016, for FTSE 100 companies to have at least one ethnic minority director on the board by December 2021 and for FTSE 250 companies to meet the same target by December 2024.

Last year, the Review announced that it was extending its scope to senior management, asking the FTSE 350 to set targets for 2027, and to the top 50 private companies and partnerships, with information published for the first time in this year’s report.

Key findings in the 2024 Review include:

• In the FTSE 100 this year, 96 companies met the 2021 target of at least one ethnic minority director on the board, with ethnic minority directors holding 19% of all board positions. (2022: 96 companies, 18%)
• In respect of senior roles on the board, ethnic minority directors held 12 CEO positions and 7 Chair positions.  
• In the FTSE 250 this year, 70% of companies met the 2024 target of at least one ethnic minority director on the board, with ethnic minority directors holding 13.5% of all board positions. (2022: 60% of companies, 11%)
• This was the first year in which the Review looked at the proportion of ethnic minorities in senior management positions, which stood at 13% for the FTSE 100 and 12% for the FTSE 250. Where companies reported to the Review that they had set 2027 targets for the proportion of ethnic minorities in senior management positions, these averaged out at 17% for the FTSE 100 and 15.5% for the FTSE 250. 44 companies out of the FTSE 100 and 50 companies out of the FTSE 250 shared these targets.
• In respect of the top 50 private companies and partnerships invited to participate in the Review, 61% of those that shared their data had already met the target of having at least one ethnic minority director on the board (the target the private companies have been asked to meet by December 2027). 36 out of the 50 companies that were approached submitted data to the Review.

The report also includes case studies, frequently asked questions, derived from company queries, an article on terminology which explores the benefits of referencing distinct ethnic minorities separately, an article on the evolution of executive search and an article from the Change the Race Ratio initiative.

The full Review is available on the Parker Review website.