The Parker Review 2026: Navigating the evolving landscape of ethnic diversity in UK business

The landscape of ethnic diversity in UK corporate leadership has evolved in the last year, as highlighted by the latest Parker Review (the Review), published this week. 

The Review aims to foster greater diversity across UK corporate management by providing data-led insights into both FTSE 250 companies and the UK’s 50 largest private companies. As of 2024, the Review assesses a broader scope than the board alone, also considering senior management across executive committee positions and those who report directly to these roles.

This blog post provides an overview of the Review’s key findings and summarises some of the key points of guidance that companies need to take into account. 

The Review's key findings

The 2026 Review reveals an increase in ethnic minority representation at board and senior levels across the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 as at December 2025. However, progress has been unequal across ethnic groups – for example, there has been slower progress for the Black community, with evidence of declining representation at board and senior management levels. Additionally, progress towards greater ethnic diversity within private companies appears to have stalled, with slight declines in ethnic minority representation across measured datasets. 

Key findings – further detail

The Review highlighted a number of key improvements in the past year.

• FTSE 100 boards reach new highs: 98% of FTSE 100 companies now have at least one ethnic minority director on their board, a record number and a significant increase from 52% in 2019. Further, ethnic minority directors now hold 20% of all directorships within the FTSE 100, marking another new high. There are now 14 ethnic minority CEOs (a modest increase from 13 in the previous year) and nine ethnic minority CFOs (up from seven in the previous year).
• FTSE 250 shows steady progress: Among FTSE 250 companies, 82% had at least one ethnic minority director by the end of 2025, up from 22% in 2019. Ethnic minority directors now account for 16% of all director positions in these companies, up from 15% in the previous year.
• Senior management representation: In the FTSE 100, ethnic minority individuals constitute 11% of UK-based senior management on average, a figure that remained stable from the previous year. In the FTSE 250, ethnic minority representation in UK-based senior management averaged 10%, an increase of one percentage point from last year. Large private companies saw ethnic minority representation in UK-based senior management rise to an average of 10%, also up one percentage point from the previous year. 

The Review also highlighted certain areas where targets set have not yet been met or progress towards greater ethnic diversity at board and senior management level has slowed. 

• Disparity for the Black community: As mentioned above, a critical finding of the Review is slower progress for the Black community. Black directorships in the FTSE 100 decreased from 2.4% in the previous year to 2.3% this year, falling further behind their 3.9% share of the general population. In contrast, directors from other ethnic minorities held 17.3% of FTSE 100 directorships, ahead of their 13.1% share of the population. Similar decreases are seen across the FTSE 250. Black senior managers in the FTSE 100 represent only 1.3% of the total. This highlights a widening gap between the representation of the Black community and other ethnic minority groups.
• Private companies lag behind public companies: For the top 50 largest private companies, only 42% meet the current target (which is to have at least one ethnic minority director on their main board by 2027). This represents a decrease from 48% in the previous year and indicates that considerable effort is still required for the target to be met.
• Lack of ethnic minority women in top roles: For the second consecutive year, no FTSE 100 CEOs are ethnic minority women, despite 14 ethnic minority CEOs and nine female CEOs. This points to compounding impacts of ethnicity and gender on career progression. For more detail on the representation of women in business leadership, see our blog post on the FTSE Women Leaders Review here. 

Guidance for UK companies 

The Review highlights strategies UK businesses should consider to drive meaningful change in ethnic minority representation at the most senior levels in their organisations. These include the following. 

• Targeted support for the Black community: Businesses should implement thoughtful approaches to address the specific challenges faced by the Black community. This requires exploring internal data to understand the diverse experiences within this group.
• Demographic imperative: The Review reiterates the demographic shift in the UK workforce, noting that 27% of the population under 18 are from ethnic minorities (compared to 14% of those in their 50s). Ethnic minorities are projected to comprise a quarter of the working population by 2051, underscoring the commercial imperative for businesses to reflect this diversity.
• Address AI's impact on equity: As AI reshapes business operations and talent processes, companies need to proactively consider the opportunities and risks they face in relation to ethnic minority representation. UK companies should be alert to inequalities built into datasets, which can, in turn, replicate a lack of representation in hiring processes.
• Build pathways to board leadership: Businesses should examine the current talent pipelines in their organisations to determine if improvements or changes could be made to address potential biases in hiring and promotional systems. 

The Review underscores that while significant progress has been made, there is more to be done to achieve genuine equity. Companies must move beyond simply tracking diversity numbers to actively cultivating inclusive cultures. The demographic reality of the UK demands that businesses fully embrace ethnic diversity not just as a matter of fairness, but as a strategic imperative for long-term growth and competitiveness. 

For further information, please speak to the authors of this blog post or your usual Freshfields contact.