Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust

The Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust was founded on the premise that inequality must be tackled in all its forms. This includes inequality of access, and of opportunity, wherever it occurs.

We are dedicated to transforming the life chances of young people and improving the world in which they live to enable them to develop and nurture their talent.
 
We believe:
All young people should receive the education, training and help they need to reach their potential.
Only 10% of apprentices in England are from Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds, although 25% of applicants come from those backgrounds. We think every young person should be enabled to succeed, not limited by where they are born or the school they go to.
 
All young people should get the information and support they need to make informed choices about their education and future careers.
4 out of 5 schools in the UK are failing to provide young people with the career advice and information they need, and young people who are uncertain or unrealistic about their career options are less likely to gain the skills and qualifications they need. This contributes to youth unemployment, which is nearly three times the rate of unemployment in the general population. We don’t think the talent of so many young people should be wasted.
 
Everyone should have the opportunity to progress in the career of their choice based on their skills and abilities, not their background.
Young people with better-educated parents and those from middle-income families are more likely to follow a career in science. Meanwhile, black graduates are around twice as likely as white graduates to be unemployed. And as they progress in their careers, only 1 in 15 people in a management position are from BAME backgrounds. We don’t think it’s fair that who your parents are or the colour of your skin should determine how successful you are.
 
Senior managers in every company and every industry should reflect the rich diversity of people in the UK.
Despite making up over half the population, less than a quarter of board members of FTSE 100 companies are women, and less than 7% come from black, Asian or minority ethnic backgrounds. We think businesses perform better when they benefit from the skills and talents of people from diverse backgrounds (government research shows that only 1 in 9 children from low income backgrounds eventually get into the top jobs).
 
From local councils to central government, those who govern on our behalf should reflect the demographics of the people they serve.
Whilst 14% of the population comes from a black, Asian or minority ethnic background, less than 1% of local councillors in England come from those backgrounds and only 42 out of 650 MPs.