Commission launched to help those from under-represented communities become leaders
Published: Friday 17 Nov 2017
A taskforce of inspirational role models has been launched to help people from under-represented parts of society make it to the top of the career ladder.
The West Midlands Leadership Commission, which will be chaired by journalist Anita Bhalla, will include more than 20 successful people from the worlds of business, the arts, health and public services who personally understand the issues of under-representation.
The Commission, which has been set up by the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), will reach out into communities and institutions to give a voice to views and ideas from people across the region.
Anita Bhalla, chair of the Leadership Commission with Mayor of the West Midlands Andy Street
The WMCA has asked the Commission to look at ways to improve opportunities for women and people from groups such as black and minority ethnic (BME), the LGBT community, disabled people and lower social economic groups such as white working-class boys.
Anita, who is chair of Performances Birmingham Ltd (Town Hall and Symphony Hall) and was awarded an OBE in 2009 for services to broadcasting and communities, said: Under-representation at leadership level limits aspiration and leads to disaffection and feelings of isolation and that's probably felt even more keenly in such a wonderfully diverse area like the West Midlands.
We know that change will not happen overnight but we intend to be an action orientated commission, one that gets out into the real world to talk to people and organisations about their first hand experiences.
We will then use that information and other expert research to draw up actions that can help create an environment where future leaders can be nurtured and supported
The launch of the Commission follows a commitment by Mayor of the West Midlands and chair of the WMCA, Andy Street, to explore what lies behind under-representation at leadership level and take appropriate action to tackle it.
The Mayor said: This lack of representation at leadership level needs to be addressed so that the people who have a significant influence on the West Midlands properly reflect its society.
We are a diverse region but to truly thrive in the 21st century we need to make the most of the exceptional talent and potential we have in all of our different communities
Cllr Steve Eling, WMCA lead for cohesion and integration and leader of Sandwell Council, added: Inclusivity in the working of the combined authority has to go far further than just the leaders of the councils.
We should be actively engaging with a much broader range of councillors from member authorities, in relation to the functions and promotion of what we are taking forward
A key task of the Commission will be to draw up a strategy and action plan to tackle leadership under-representation in the West Midlands.
Early actions to be explored include:
- The promotion of name-blind recruitment by West Midlands companies where the name of a job applicant is not revealed to those assessing the candidate
- Encouraging applications from under-represented groups for leadership positions such as magistrates, Justices of the Peace, deputy lieutenants, school governors and non-executive NHS chairs and directors
- A cross-party campaign to increase representation amongst political candidates for local elections
- Targeted employment initiatives for under-represented groups
Birmingham City University, Warwick University and Wolverhampton University will be providing the Commission with research facilities with work headed up by Professor Jenny Phillimore of Birmingham University, who is director of the Institute for Research into Superdiversity, and Kiran Trehan, Professor of Enterprise and Leadership Development at Birmingham Business School.
Video clip of Anita Bhalla, chair of the Leadership Commission talking about its aims and forthcoming work can be viewed at - https://youtu.be/0ZEr0LDR3sA
Video clip of Deborah Cadman, chief executive of the WMCA, on the importance of making sure that major decisions affecting the region are undertaken in as inclusive way - https://youtu.be/vJ7GjTVZ67E