Half of hospitality professionals from Black, Asian or Ethnic Minority backgrounds have experienced racism at work

Be Inclusive Hospitality has released findings from its industry-wide survey with a call for immediate action from the sector.

In November 2020, Be Inclusive Hospitality and CPL Learning launched the survey to capture the experiences of hospitality professionals to better understand experiences pertaining to race, bias and career progression.

The survey captured the views of 387 people at all levels, from different ethnicities and occupations and explored topics such as racism, bias, career progression, inclusion, wellbeing and training.

The findings showed there was a real concern about the impact of racism in the workplace, with more than half of all ethnic minorities surveyed having experienced or witnessed racism within the workplace.

Of those hospitality professionals surveyed, 42% of Mixed hospitality professionals felt their race/ethnicity has hindered their career progression, while 56% of Asian hospitality professionals and 41% of Black hospitality professionals felt the same. Just 7% of White hospitality professionals felt their race/ethnicity had hindered their career progression.

There was a clear appetite for education and training around race and ethnicity within the workplace, with 60% of respondents saying that while they had not received any staff training or education, they found the idea appealing. Only 28% of hospitality professionals surveyed had received training or education around race, ethnicity or anti-racism.

The report concluded with some practical steps that employers of all sizes can take towards building an equitable, diverse and inclusive culture. You can download the report summary or purchase the full report for £299 here.

Lorraine Copes, Be Inclusive Hospitality founder, said: “I wanted to run the Inside Hospitality survey and gather data so that we are all able to take steps forward towards racial equity in hospitality through understanding the experiences of those who work in the industry.

“Hospitality has some work to do marketing itself as an industry that can and will support its teams. Sadly, this report identifies exactly how much work there is to do, especially for those from ethnic minority backgrounds.

“The sector is currently suffering from severe staff shortages, so now is surely the right time to make sure that a better hospitality sector is rebuilt, where all people can thrive and develop their careers, not those that are in a privileged position”.

Jamie Campbell, director of CPL Learning, added: “As providers of learning to the hospitality sector it has been a pleasure to work with Be Inclusive Hospitality alongside the team at CGA with this vitally important research. It’s crucial in our understanding what kind of targeted training is necessary to improve the experiences of Black, Asian or Ethnic Minority people working in the sector and for communicating to operators the importance of being proactive in supporting their teams”.

Be Inclusive Hospitality is a not-for-profit with a mission to drive education, amplify voices, build a strong community and accelerate racial equality in the hospitality sector. Over the past seven months, the organisation has delivered a range of workshops to restaurants and hotels within the sector covering topics such as race literacy and inclusive leadership, along with supporting leaders to transform their company cultures.