cent of This finding of under-represented cultural diversity is consistent with patterns in many other countries described as multicultural or executives. In the United Kingdom, 22 percent multiethnic. According to of university students identify as Black and McKinsey’s report (2018), in Delivering through Diversity Minority Ethnic, yet make up only 8 percent of the United States, black Americans comprise British senior executives.15 Such disparity was 10 per also found in the The Colour of Power study cent of graduates but only 4 per cent of (2017), which showed that for more than 1000 senior executives, Hispanics and Latinos of the most senior posts in the UK in business, comprise politics, government, sport, media and the 8 per cent of graduates but only 4 per cent of arts, only 3.4 per cent of occupants are Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) compared to 12.9 senior executives, and Asian Americans – make up 7 per cent of graduates versus 5 per of the general British population.16 Table 1: Cultural Backgrounds of Senior Leaders in Australian Organisations (Chief Executives and Other ‘C-Suite’ Leaders) Percentage Percentage over/ Percentage of of Australian under-representation population (+/-) Cultural background Number senior leaders Anglo-Celtic 1890 75.9 58 +17.9 European 474 19.0 18 +1.0 Non-European 116 4.7 21 -16.3 Asian 76 3.1 Middle-Eastern and 22 0.9 Northern African Other Non-European 18 0.7 background Indigenous 10 0.4 3 -2.6 Total 2490 Figure 2: Cultural Backgrounds of Senior Leaders in Australian Organisations Percentage of senior leaders Anglo-Celtic 4.7 European 75.9 Non-European Indigenous 08
This finding of under-represented cultural diversity is consistent with patterns in many other countries described as multicultural or multiethnic. According to McKinsey’s Delivering through Diversity report (2018), in the United States, black Americans comprise 10 per cent of graduates but only 4 per cent of senior executives, Hispanics and Latinos comprise 8 per cent of graduates but only 4 per cent of senior executives, and Asian Americans make up 7 per cent of graduates versus 5 per cent of executives. In the United Kingdom, 22 percent of university students identify as Black and Minority Ethnic, yet make up only 8 percent of British senior executives.15 Such disparity was also found in the The Colour of Power study (2017), which showed that for more than 1000 of the most senior posts in the UK in business, politics, government, sport, media and the arts, only 3.4 per cent of occupants are Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) – compared to 12.9 of the general British population.16 Table 1: Cultural Backgrounds of Senior Leaders in Australian Organisations (Chief Executives and Other ‘C-Suite’ Leaders) Cultural background Number Percentage of senior leaders Percentage of Australian population Percentage over/ under-representation (+/-) Anglo-Celtic 1890 75.9 58 +17.9 European 474 19.0 18 +1.0 Non-European 116 4.7 21 -16.3 Asian 76 3.1 Middle-Eastern and Northern African 22 0.9 Other Non-European background 18 0.7 Indigenous 10 0.4 3 -2.6 Total 2490 Figure 2: Cultural Backgrounds of Senior Leaders in Australian Organisations Percentage of senior leaders 4.7 75.9 Anglo-Celtic European Non-European Indigenous 08