Mark Carney: Investing in ethnicity & race

Speech by Mr Mark Carney, Governor of the Bank of England, at the Investing in Ethnicity & Race Conference 2019, hosted by the Bank of England, London, 28 March 2019

The views expressed in this speech are those of the speaker and not the view of the BIS.

Introduction

It's a pleasure for the Bank of England to host this workshop on Investing in Ethnicity & Race.

To pursue its mission, Bank of England must reflect the diversity of the people it serves.

That hasn't always been the case. Historically, central banks were run by the City for the City. The Bank's first female Court member, Frances Heaton, was appointed only in 1993, while our first Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) member, Lord Morris, followed five years later. I'm the 120th in a very long line of male, white Governors of the Bank.

Over the last five years the Bank has implemented a concerted strategy to increase diversity and foster inclusion. These initiatives have had a material impact on all aspects of diversity at the Bank. We are now reinforcing them to further improve the retention and progression of BAME colleagues in particular, and to deepen progress on inclusion more generally.

The Bank values diversity for at least three reasons.