The mandate made in 2017 by The Parker Review set the clear goal to have at least one person from an ethnic minority on the board of every FTSE 100 company by 2021, and on every FTSE 250 company by 2024.

The reality in 2021, however, is that 17% of those FTSE 100 companies in the consumer and retail industry still are yet to reach that goal, while 59% of the FTSE 250 have also failed to meet the target.

Korn Ferry also revealed that there are just 11 chief executives of an ethnic minority background leading the consumer companies listed in the FTSE 100, FTSE 250 or AIM, all of whom are male, while just five companies have diverse chairs.