Prince William, Kate Middleton reveal percentage of staff who are ethnic minorities after push for more diversity
Prince William and Kate Middleton have taken strides to hit diversity goals within their staff, a new report claims.
According to Newsweek, the royal couple’s household employs 66 people, with 14 percent — or about nine — coming from ethnic minority backgrounds.
The outlet also reports that 67 percent, or 44 people, on the staff were female, while the remaining 22 were male.
“Work has continued in support of the royal household’s inclusion and diversity strategy which aims to improve representation, but also to support a wholesale approach to ensuring the royal household’s culture is inclusive, encouraging engagement and authenticity across all teams,” the Sovereign Grant report reads, per Newsweek.
Buckingham Palace, on the other hand, has different diversity data based on its own staff and has set a target to have 14 percent of staff members from ethnic minority groups by 2025.
King Charles III’s royal household reported 11.4 percent of its employees were from ethnic backgrounds.
The average pay gap is 3.9 percent, meaning employees from ethnic backgrounds were paid less than their white counterparts.
53 percent of the staff were female, with the gender pay gap reported as 2.2 percent.
Representatives for Buckingham Palace did not immediately respond to Page Six’s request for comment.
The report comes after the Prince and Princess of Wales’ foundation promised in 2021 to push for more diversity.
“The Royal Foundation remains committed to equality and diversity and to ensuring a positive, safe and respectful environment which promotes the wellbeing and dignity of its employees, applicants, partners, suppliers and those whose interests it represents,” said the 2020 trustees’ report.
The report chronicled the finances and employment data of the foundation from January to December 2020 — including the figures around the time that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle resigned from their duties as senior royals.
In their bombshell 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey, Markle claimed that members of the royal family had expressed concern about the skin color of her and Harry’s son, Archie.
Though he didn’t provide further details at the time, Harry confirmed that it was not Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip.
“That conversation I’m never going to share, but at the time, it was awkward; I was a bit shocked,” the Duke of Sussex said at the time.
