HSBC UK was one of the founding members of Investing in Ethnicity, and we are proud to have worked with the organisation and the All-Party Parliamentary Group over the past seven years to help shape the Maturity Matrix and drive change by using the Matrix as a framework within our organisation. Additionally, we contributed to shaping the recommendations for other businesses beginning their journey.

HSBC UK’s Commitment to Diversity

HSBC UK serves around 14.5 million customers across the UK, supported by 32,000 colleagues. We felt that to be reflective of Britain and its growing diverse population, we needed to put the ethnicity agenda as a priority within our inclusion efforts. This began with collecting diversity data.

Collecting Diversity Data

Understanding our colleague population was the first step to identifying the barriers, being able to talk to leadership and the business, and getting their engagement and sign-off on ensuring we can put the correct equity measures in place. Collecting data on ethnic groups has been a long-term process, and we recognised the first steps were to build colleague confidence; our self-declaration rate is now 89%.

Communication Campaign

For those looking to start collecting ethnicity data, the biggest challenge is ensuring colleagues feel confident in declaring their ethnicity. We began with an informed communication campaign supported by colleagues from ethnic groups. This campaign aimed to explain who saw the data, what it was used for, and how data would help support our business strategy.

Setting Targets and Commitments

We have since set targets and made a series of commitments to support more Black and other ethnically diverse colleagues to succeed, including at least doubling the number of Black employees in senior leadership globally by 2025.

Impact of Data

As a result of collecting data and showcasing the business case, we have been able to build the rationale for delivering targeted equity measures. We now have over 1,000 Black and ethnic minority colleagues who have been supported through dedicated career development programmes.

Ethnicity Pay Gap Report

Our Ethnicity Pay Gap report has been published since 2021 and includes a breakdown by ethnicity groups. Our leadership teams are now more engaged. We regularly review what our data is telling us, and our Inclusion Spotlights are strategic programmes of work focused on one particular area of diversity and inclusion. Each is led by an Executive on behalf of the Executive Team, in partnership with our ERGs and Inclusion Team. Each Inclusion Spotlight is tasked with speeding up the pace of change and delivering significant measurable improvements in outcomes experienced by a diverse group and does so against a dedicated 3Rs plan including KPIs.

Progress and Accountability

Progress is reported regularly to the Executive team and through twice-yearly updates to all colleagues. The 3Rs Plan ensures that our leaders are accountable and data is key to being able to measure the successes of our plan, which includes performance review processes, quarterly reporting for our Executive Team, and their engagement through sponsoring specific programmes.

As a UK bank with strong connections to markets around the world, HSBC understands the benefits that diversity brings to its customers, business, and people. HSBC is proud of its inclusive and diverse culture but also knows there is always more to do.

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