Workers 'still facing all kinds of discrimina

Employees in Britain are facing a range of barriers to career advancement, including gender, age, religion and ethnicity, a new report states.

Figures from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) indicate that just 19 per cent of workers in both the UK and the United States from diverse backgrounds believed that it was easy for them to get ahead and achieve promotion.

The poll of 200 people found that barriers to becoming managers also included parental status, sexuality and disability and more than half of the respondents stated that they had to take risks in order to progress in their career.

Dubbed a "glass cliff" for employees who are promoted from diverse backgrounds, the CIPD warns that more subtle forms of discrimination can leave them unsupported and facing a professional fall.

Commenting on the research by Exeter University experts, CIPD diversity advisor, Dianah Worman, said: "This new research helps us better understand why the representation of diverse groups declines higher up the career ladder and why simply seeking to fix the numbers through targets will not deliver lasting results in creating a more diverse workforce."

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Date:13/08/2007 11:08:19