Hiring experienced employees continues to reinforce the lack of socio-economic diversity , with the background of those hired from outside firms broadly mirroring the current levels of socio-economic diversity in firms (Shaping the Sector report, 2024). Data submitted by member firms for this report found that 75% of member firms do not brief recruiters to consider socio-economic background when identifying candidates. This roundtable is an opportunity to discuss our guide on what to ask executive search firms which has been updated in 2025 in collaboration with the Association of Executive Search Consultants (AESC).
This discussion will build upon the first roundtable held on 23 May 2024, where we had executive search firms and member firms present. This previous roundtable focussed on what executive search firms and members could do to identify and attract candidates from lower socio-economic backgrounds. It led to a series of practical actions that executive search and member firms could do to tackle the lack of diversity among new senior level recruits.
To progress the conversation further, we are inviting Global HR Directors, Chief People Officers and other executive level stakeholders within our member firms and senior representatives from executive search firms to discuss how they can shift the dial on this agenda.
By attending this roundtable, attendees will:
- Discuss whether socio-economic diversity is considered in senior level recruitment in their organisations.
- Discuss the actions that were derived from the previous roundtable and ascertain which ones have been prioritised within their firm for implementation.
- Agree on next steps in approaching executive search firms in diversifying the candidate pool for senior positions.
- Develop a further set of actions that member firms could do to change their talent acquisition strategies, with a view for Progress Together to generate guidance based on case studies to cover those specific areas to support its members.
Space is limited, we can only accept one participant per organisation.
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