LONDON (UK) – City of London representatives vote on Thursday on whether to remove statues of two figures from its Guildhall medieval ceremonial home that symbolise the financial sector’s historic role in slavery .
The Square Mile financial district has established a task force for tackling racism in June last year after the death of George Floyd in the United States.
The task force has recommended removal of statues of William Beckford and John Cass from the Guildhall, with City councillors voting on Thursday afternoon.
While Cass was a merchant in transatlantic slave trading during the early 1700s, Beckford was Lord Mayor of London in the 18th century and was in possession of plantations in Jamaica with slaves.
Britain’s financial services minister John Glen said on Thursday that the Race at Work Charter set up in 2018 has garnered the attention of 50 firms and helped improved diversity.
Glen told a City & Financial conference on ethnic diversity in financial services, “By signing up to the charter, firms commit to tackling barriers,”
But Tony Sewell, chair of the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities that is likely to report soon, said the focus should be on improving all talent and not be sidelined by the “mini industry” of diversity and inclusion services.
“I would challenge companies today not to get too worried about this whole idea of doing lots and lots of diversity stuff,” Sewell said.
Sewell said, “I would ask the harder question. How is their talent being developed? I am fairly cynical about charter sign-ups and tick boxes, which are easy to do.”
The Financial Conduct Authority is delving into diversity in the firms it regulates.
“The City and financial services generally are not diverse and inclusive,” said Georgina Philippou, a senior advisor at the FCA. “You cannot dismiss the moral imperative to do the right thing,” she said.
