The number of black executives holding top positions at FTSE 100 companies has fallen to zero for the first time in at least six years, according to data compiled by Green Park.
The London staffing firm looked at CEO, CFO, and chair roles at the UK's biggest companies, and found that not one was filled by a black executive.
"We know there is no shortage of qualified candidates to fill these roles if companies are willing to look. Yet the snowy peaks of British business remain stubbornly white," said Trevor Phillips, chair of Green Park, in a statement on Wednesday.
He added: "It is time that shareholders, consumers and employees start questioning whether Black Lives Matter is just rhetoric rather than reality."
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Green Park on Wednesday published a few key statistics from its annual Business Leaders Index. It hasn't yet released the full report, but released data about roles held by executives with ethnic minority backgrounds. Only 10 of 297 leaders, or 3.4%, were from a minority background, Green Park said.
Wednesday's data release marked the first time in six years that no black business leader has been in a top spot, according to the firm.
"Corporate leaders need to stop telling us how much they care and do something to show us that black lives really do matter," said Phillips.
About 1.1% of company board directors – both executive and non-executive – were black, which was down from 1.3% in 2014, said Green Park. Board directors from other non-white backgrounds grew in the last year, but those numbers weren't released Wednesday.
UK officials have set a 2021 diversity target for FTSE 100 companies to have at least one board member from a minority background. That effort began in 2017, but only 37% of companies surveyed last winter had ethnic minority representation on their boards, according to data from the Parker Review.
Green Park on Wednesday also said that future prospects for black leadership at the highest levels appear "slim."
Just 0.9% of executives in the leadership pipeline were black, down from 1.4% a year ago, according to the company.
The company said it compiles its report using mostly public information, including annual reports, listing information from the London Stock Exchange, company websites, and LinkedIn.
Corporate leaders around the world have invested in new diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, including committing to interviewing at least one BIPOC candidate for every senior role.
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