Students call on big business to get its act together to build a more equal society

Students across the UK are mobilising to urge their potential future employers to do more to ensure that they play their part in reducing inequality and building a fairer world. They are calling on the leaders of the FTSE 350 (combining the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250) to learn from, support and buy from social enterprises which are showing how we can achieve equality through business.

This comes after it was announced that recent research by Bloomberg found, between 2007 and 2017, black male graduates earned £7000 less per year than their white peers on average, despite being more likely to invest in higher education. Black male participation in higher education has increased by 24%, compared with a 15% rise for white men. Research conducted by the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies suggests that, regardless of gender, black graduates are less likely to be employed after graduation. This could be due to inequalities in higher education; black people are far less likely to receive a good degree and much more likely to go to less prestigious universities, which are both key barriers to finding a well-paid graduate job.

The government brought in the Race Relations Act in 1965 in order to protect ethnic minorities from racial discrimination. Despite the act since being strengthened numerous times, there is regular evidence that employers continue to discriminate, on the basis of foreign-sounding names, for example. Much wider shifts in society are necessary to ensure equality for all.

This campaign could be the first step in making such a shift. The petition has gone out calling on big business to take its obligations to society and the environment more seriously at a time when trust in corporations is at an all-time low. Research conducted as part of the Deloitte Millenial Atitudes Survey shows that less than half of young people believe businesses behave ethically and that there is scepticism towards businesses commitment to diversity and inclusivity.

Peter Holbrook, CEO of Social Enterprise UK comments:

“Increasingly young people are looking for more from their employers. They know that business as usual is not good enough if we’re to address the real and immediate challenges we are facing from the urgent need to decarbonise our economy to the inequalities of wealth and power which are denying so many people the chance to participate in the economy."

Social enterprises are businesses which have diversity and ethics at their core. They are set up to trade for a social purpose and reinvest the majority of their profits back towards meeting their social or environmental mission. They are more representative of society as a whole than mainstream businesses with 41% being led by women and 12% by people from an ethnic minority background – double the level in the rest of the private sector. They are creating jobs and opportunities in the areas that need them most.

“Social enterprises point to what the future can look like – combining innovation and profitability with a real dedication to both people and planet. They are creating a more equal society through business and companies have a lot to learn from them if they are to attract the workforce of the future.”

From coffee companies providing employment for the homeless and fashion labels committed to supported local producers to community energy projects and staff owned health services - social enterprises are showing us a different way of doing business.

This action forms part of the broader Social Saturday campaign organised by the membership body for the sector Social Enterprise UK with the support of the Co-op and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.