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The Chartered Trading Standards Institute joins over 600 employers in signing up to the Race at Work Charter, an initiative designed to improve outcomes for employees of ethnically diverse backgrounds in the UK.

Launched in partnership with the UK government in 2018, the Race at Work Charter builds on the work of the 2017 McGregor-Smith Review, which found that people from ethnically diverse backgrounds were still underemployed, underpromoted and under-represented at senior levels.

Signing the charter demonstrates a public commitment to improving the experiences of ethnically diverse employees in the workplace. It sets out five actions for signatories like CTSI to take:

• *Appointing an Executive Sponsor for race
• *Capturing data and publicising progress
• *Ensuring zero tolerance of harassment and bullying
• *Making equality in the workplace the responsibility of all leaders and managers
• *Taking action that supports ethnic minority career progression

This year, research carried out by Business in the Community (BITC) on the second anniversary of the landmark Race at Work Charter launch reveals:

76% of employers say that action on race recruitment and progression is a strategic priority, but only 46% have set targets to improve the racial diversity of their boards.

99 per cent of employers have a clear zero-tolerance policy on racial harassment and bullying. Still, only 38 per cent of employers have commissioned a review into bullying and harassment in the workplace – down from 45% in 2019.

Tendy Lindsay, Chair of CTSI'S Race and Equalities Working Group, said: "I am proud that CTSI has signed this crucially important charter. We are committed to making CTSI a bastion of anti-racism and, in turn, unlocking opportunities for ethnically diverse individuals in the trading standards profession. A profession that engages with, welcomes and protects all communities is a stronger profession."

Sandra Kerr CBE, race equality director at Business in the Community, said: "We would like to thank CTSI for setting out their commitment to being an inclusive and responsible employer. By signing up to the charter, they are showing that they aspire to have one of the most inclusive workplaces in the country. Together we can break down barriers in the workplace, raise the aspirations and achievements of talented individuals and deliver an enormous boost to the long-term economic position of the UK."

Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI)

CTSI is a training and membership organisation that has represented the interests of the Trading Standards profession since 1881 nationally and internationally. We aim to raise the profile of the profession while working towards fairer, better informed and safer consumer and business communities.

CTSI's members are engaged in delivering frontline trading standards services in local authorities and in businesses. www.tradingstandards.uk