The report, published by the seven-time Formula One world champion and RAEng today (13 July) following 10 months of research, identifies at least six barriers to potential black recruits to engineering positions within the industry – and 10 recommendations to help overcome them.
The Hamilton Commission – co-chaired by the driver and RAEng CEO Dr Hayaatun Sillem CBE – was launched in June 2020 as a result of his ambition to see more people like himself employed within the motorsport industry.
“Given the right opportunities and support, young people can excel at whatever they put their minds to, but our research shows that many young black people are being closed out of opportunities within Stem, and having their full potential limited,” said Hamilton.
“While I have enjoyed a successful career in motorsport, it’s been a lonely path as one of the few black individuals within Formula One and, after 15 years of waiting for the industry to catch up, I realised I had to take action myself.”
The research for Accelerating Change: Improving Representation of Black People in UK Motorsport was led by RAEng. It involved data analysis, a literature review, and in-depth surveying and analysis with youth focus groups and other stakeholders. It also included a board of 14 commissioners from fields including motorsport, engineering, politics and education.
Overcoming barriers
With only 1% of F1 employees coming from black backgrounds, the report identifies factors within wider society and practices within the industry that are limiting progression.
The factors include:
- Hiring practices within motorsport teams that favour students from a select group of high-ranking universities, which many of the existing engineers and recruiting managers also graduated from
- Geographical factors, which mean opportunities for work experience at places such as Silverstone are too far to travel for students from black communities in cities and other young people from low-income backgrounds
- Lower expectations of black students’ academic abilities, leading to lower entries to Stem subjects
- ‘Behaviour management’ practices in schools that disproportionately affect black students, including disproportionately high numbers of temporary and permanent exclusions of young black and mixed-race pupils
- The lack of black role models in Stem teaching positions, including higher education
- A lack of understanding among young people of the careers that studying engineering can lead to, and a feeling among black students that motorsport ‘wasn’t for them’.
The commission made 10 recommendations, which it believes will have “long-lasting and positive impact on the motorsport industry, and encourage more young black students to pursue subjects which lead to careers in engineering”.
The recommendations include:
- Asking that F1 teams and other motorsport organisations take the lead in implementing a Diversity and Inclusion Charter for motorsport, committing to improve diversity and inclusion across all organisations
- Calling for F1 teams and other motorsport businesses to expand apprenticeships provision to include higher apprenticeships and degree apprenticeships, as well as availability to paid work placement and work experience schemes
- Establishment of a new ‘exclusions innovation fund’, to develop programmes that address the factors that contribute to the high proportion of students from black backgrounds being excluded from schools
- Supporting new approaches to increase the number of black teachers in Stem subjects that lead to careers in engineering
- Supporting the creation of scholarship programmes to enable black graduates from degrees in engineering and allied subjects to progress into specialist motorsport roles
- Calling for additional Stem activity support to be provided to supplementary schools led by black community groups across the UK.
‘Findings have opened my eyes’
Throughout his career as the only black driver within F1, Hamilton hoped that his success would inspire other diverse talent to pursue motorsport careers. That has not been the case, however. When exploring the ways in which he could fund change in the industry, Hamilton discovered that very little was known about why a wealth of opportunities was not translating to more diversity.
While reviewing the lack of representation in the end of season photo in 2019, Hamilton was spurred to take action. He engaged the RAEng to conduct the necessary research into the barriers preventing black talent from entering the industry, and how these barriers could be addressed.
“I needed to understand what was preventing the industry from being as diverse as the world around it,” he said. “Through the commission’s research, we can see there are clear, meaningful steps the motorsport industry needs to take towards creating a more inclusive environment where diversity can thrive, but also that we must tackle the barriers facing black students that exist throughout their educational journey. Some of these barriers I recognise from my own experiences, but our findings have opened my eyes to just how far-reaching these problems are.”
The Mercedes driver personally committed to carrying forward a number of recommendations through his philanthropic endeavours. He will also work with his team and the wider industry, as well as third party charities and organisations, to ensure all recommendations are implemented. An RAEng announcement said the report is “just the first step” in Hamilton’s long-term ambition.
CEO Dr Sillem said: “The academy has been leading a Diversity and Inclusion programme for the last decade to address the diversity deficit in engineering, and while some positive progress has been made, it remains a source of great concern that only 9% of UK professional engineers are from black or minority ethnic backgrounds and only 14.5% are women.”
She added: “Engineers shape the world around us – enhancing almost every aspect of our everyday lives, from the sport and entertainment we enjoy, to technologies that keep us connected to our family and friends – and it is therefore imperative that they better reflect the diversity of the society they serve and that engineering careers are open to all.”
Since the launch of the commission, and increased focus on the Black Lives Matter movement and racial inequality since last year, the motorsport industry has responded with diversity and inclusion initiatives from the FIA, F1 and F1 teams including Mercedes.
“While the Hamilton Commission supports these individual commitments to progress, through its final report and recommendations it calls on each organisation to work together towards a better industry for future generations,” the announcement said. “Industry-wide change is long overdue, and Lewis believes now is the time to make it happen.”
The final report, including the full list of recommendations, can be accessed on the
Hamilton Commission’s website.
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