As we mark the fifth anniversary of CORe, I am incredibly proud of the achievements made by our founders – Graham Idehen, Tatenda Musesengwa, Charlene Adamah and Sia Najumi – and past and present steering committee members.

CORe was established in 2020 by members of the research industry who recognised the critical need for better ethnic minority representation within our sector. Our entirely volunteer-run team has worked passionately to drive change, make a difference and ensure diverse voices are heard.

The recent fifth anniversary event illustrates how far we have come. It was a great turnout and people were engaged and highly appreciated the hard truth shared by Daniel Singham, Shazia Ginai and Mark Thorpe. We’ve always wanted to create a safe space for our people, and we think we’ve achieved this at our events. We’ve had great feedback, with people saying they comfortable speaking about their current experiences without judgement.

Over the past five years, CORe has become a champion for diverse voices and experiences, launching multiple long-running initiatives to support and empower professionals of colour at all levels and backgrounds.

While we have achieved significant progress and positively impacted many individuals in the industry, it is clear that a major systemic problem still persists. From many personal discussions we’ve had with people in the industry, people of colour are still either being denied the opportunities they deserve or are being misled and exploited merely to serve corporate objectives. There have even been discussions about their white counterparts being promoted over them despite strong performance and meeting all objectives. Furthermore, the industry’s current financial challenges are unfortunately leading to severe repercussions and cutbacks in crucial diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) initiatives.

While we celebrate genuine allyship, we must also address the recurring issue of empty promises and lip service. Many organisations and leaders claim to value diversity, representation and cultural differences, yet their actions often fall short. A recent example is the minimal acknowledgment of significant cultural events like Black History Month or the Hindu and Sikh festival of lights, Diwali, by many organisations. It is insufficient for leaders to rely on a single unconscious bias training session and consider their work done. Tackling the systemic challenges that persist requires ongoing, collective effort.

This work is more vital than ever given the current climate. The recent rise in political and social tensions has led to horrific incidents of racism across the country. Police recorded data for England and Wales shows a 6% increase in race hate crimes and a 3% increase in religious hate crimes this year, making many of us feel genuinely fearful. September saw a massive far right march through London and so we ask: how many leaders genuinely checked in to see how their team are coping and feeling?

As a small industry, we must do more. We need our white allies to step up. Confronting these issues can be uncomfortable, and we are not here to provoke guilt or defensiveness. It is important to move through that discomfort. More work is needed collectively, and the CORe team is ready to guide and support your education and commitment to genuine change.

How can we work together to drive meaningful change? Led by dedicated advocates, Daniel and Graham, we offer several avenues for engagement and support including ‘lunch and learn sessions’ covering topics including: defining DE&I; DE&I in market research; and best practices for sample studies.

We are open to collaboration opportunities, such as: private discussions with leaders who require guidance; sponsorships; webinar or event ideas; or other collaborations with companies who want to make research the most diverse industry.

Recent data underscores the continued need for action. The latest EDI survey from MRS, published earlier this year, found that 36% of the workforce reported experiencing some form of discrimination, lack of inclusion or feelings of discomfort at their workplace in the last 12 months.

Another interesting finding we saw from the survey results is there had been an increase in reports of demeaning language, stereotypes and insults as well as bullying, harassment and violence, compared with the previous research in 2022. This highlights that while progress has been made, a substantial portion of people are still facing challenges. We must acknowledge that there is still a long way to go to ensure a truly equitable and inclusive environment for everyone and we’ll continue to champion and be a driving force for this.

We do hope we’ll continue to receive genuine support, especially from industry leaders, so we can see positive scores from the EDI survey next year. Here’s to the next five years and more of Colour of Research. We can’t wait to see how much more we will have achieved by then with the help of your continued support.

Rajdeep Chana is a steering group committee member at CORe and senior business development director