[BBC] Lawyer and diversity campaigner Funke Abimbola MBE says she suffered "bias" when she tried to get into the profession.About a third of FTSE 100 companies have no ethnic minority representation on their boards, a report has revealed.
The Parker Review Committee found 31 of the 83 firms which provided relevant information fell into this category.
Ms Abimbola said: "I found a number of barriers to entering the profession because I had an African name and am a black woman, without any doubt."
She told the BBC: "I had to make over 100 phone calls to get a foot in the door.
"I have experienced bias and situations where, being a black woman, I was judged more harshly over other colleagues. You are more likely to be noticed and are far more likely to have negative judgements made about you if you are part of an ethnic minority."
The Parker report also found even lower representation at board level across FTSE 250 companies, where 119 out of 173 (69%) had no ethnic diversity.
MBE - The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service.[2] It was established on 4 June 1917 by King George V and comprises five classes across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two of which make the recipient either a knight if male or dame if female.[3] There is also the related British Empire Medal, whose recipients are affiliated with, but not members of the order.