What inspired your organisation to participate in the Investing in Ethnicity Maturity Matrix?

Inclusion is a fundamental principle guiding everything we do at Lloyds Banking Group. We recognise inclusion as a business imperative, driving innovation and enabling us to reflect and serve the communities in which we operate more accurately. We are investing in an organisation that is ensuring Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic colleagues feel included, valued and able to realise their full potential. Creating a truly inclusive organisation requires fostering an environment where all colleagues are empowered to speak up, challenge and take an active stance against racism and discrimination.
Participation in the Investing in Ethnicity Maturity Matrix has provided us with valuable benchmarking data and insights, supporting our ongoing journey towards greater inclusion across all areas of our business. Recognition as an accredited Exemplary Employer for Ethnicity, alongside being named the Ethnicity Award’s Outstanding Employer of 2025, demonstrates the significant progress made but there is still more to do. These achievements highlight how inclusion is embedded within our culture and practices, shaping the way colleagues support one another and engage with the wider community.

Why do you think promoting ethnicity inclusion is important for your organisation?

It strengthens our purpose of helping Britain prosper. When we remove barriers, foster inclusion and equity, we build a culture where everyone can thrive, and it directly improves performance, innovation, and trust.
Our inclusion ambition is commercially critical: it helps us reflect the customers and communities we serve, attract the widest pool of talent, and create a high‑performing, diverse workforce.
Ethnicity inclusion specifically helps us build an organisation that reflects the UK communities. We have set a 2030 ambition that reflects the fluid nature of both our transformation and our evolving society. Grounded in census and industry benchmarking, our ambition for 2030 is to have between 19% and 22% for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic representation in executive roles.

What were your key findings or insights from the exercise?

We demonstrated sector-leading performance in most areas of the Maturity Matrix, particularly in external impact, recruitment and inclusive culture. Notably, we have maintained or improved scores in most categories, with specific gains in External Impact and Recruitment.
Our opportunity for further progression is in more granular data collection, supplier diversity policies, and expanding the reach and content of internal resources and allyship initiatives.

• We are pleased to have outperformed the average in every category, with the most notable strengths in:
  • External Impact (91% vs. 52% average; +39% variance)
  • Recruitment (86% vs. 55%; +31%)
  • Culture and Inclusion (85% vs. 56%; +29%)
  • Network Group (90% vs. 66%; +24%).

Which initiatives or practices contributed most to your high score?

Inclusive recruitment and attraction, along with robust practices, such as data driven decision making, rigorous monitoring and continuous improvement with accountability enabling us to deliver engaging attraction events to connect with diverse talent.
External Impact and Customer Client Services by ensuring products and services are inclusive of diverse ethnic groups, providing customer-facing colleagues with inclusion training focused on ethnicity and partnering with charities and social enterprises supporting ethnic minority communities.
Culture and Inclusion, with a comprehensive internal communications plan that highlight the business imperative of ethnicity inclusion, frequent and transparent updates on progress and activities and resources for all colleagues to build awareness and challenge non-inclusive behaviour.
Network Group Engagement, an active multicultural/ethnicity-focused network groups, with strong governance and executive allyship, along with annual events calendars and development solutions.
Data Collection and Disclosure, engaging #CountMeIn initiative which supports colleagues’ understanding of transparent data collection and reporting, encouraging increased data disclosure.
Action Planning and Accountability Mechanisms across the organisation, commitment to dedicated DEI resources and budgets, Inclusion committees and task forces, clear KPIs aligned to ethnicity ambitions and leadership accountability for progress.

What measurable outcomes or impacts have you seen (e.g., representation, engagement, retention)?

Increased inclusion and engagement index scores supported by a strong colleague network engagement, fostering a sense of belonging with active leadership commitment through our Group Executive Allies.

Growth in Representation (As of End of 2024):

• Senior Management Representation: 12.6% of senior manager roles are held by Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic colleagues, with 1.8% from Black heritage backgrounds.
• Graduate Programme: 34% graduates are from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds, including 8% from Black heritage.
• T-Level Students: 43% of T-Level students hosted were from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds, with many securing apprenticeships.

Recruitment & Progression

Implemented Career Conversations, to better understand colleagues’ career experiences and goals, providing support, including opportunities for mentorship and sponsorship.
Increased diverse candidate pool of professionals with the skills, insight and experience relevant to our businesses through a series of regional attraction events.
We are proud to be recognised as a Top 10 Employer at the Ethnicity Awards every year since 2018 and as Outstanding Employer four times.

Did you face any initial challenges in integrating the ethnicity agenda into your overall DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) strategy? How did you overcome them?

We’ve been focused on the ethnicity inclusion for several years, and while there were initial challenges, particularly around building understanding, confidence and the data and insights needed. We overcame them through sustained race education, strong executive allyship and targeted actions that delivered measurable progress. Over time, this consistent effort has embedded ethnicity inclusion as a core, longstanding part of our wider Inclusion ambition.

What advice would you give to organisations starting out on their ethnic inclusion journey?

• Set clear, public ambitions for ethnic representation and regularly review progress.
• Create an environment where everyone can speak up and challenge discrimination, making inclusion part of your core purpose.
• Invest in inclusive education and skills for all colleagues, especially leaders and recruiters, to build understanding and inclusive behaviours.
• Be transparent by reporting on progress and pay gaps and hold the organisation accountable for change – using the Investing in Ethnicity Maturity Matrix is a powerful tool for this too!
• Engage with communities and external partners to broaden your impact and learn from others.