The Asian communications network (ACN) celebrates its first birthday with the announcement of a new corporate partnership with Lloyds Banking Group to help fight against the persistent lack of ethnic diversity at higher levels through the communications of financial services.
Lloyds banking group has identified two key priorities for collaboration: Building a more inclusive recruitment pipeline that attracts higher level talents from a wide range of environments and improving inclusive leadership through its business function.
Trained in 2024 by Advdita Patel, Farzana Baduel and Shayoni Lynn, ACN quickly became a voice of confidence for change, with a community of nearly 500 through the communications, media and marketing sectors in the United Kingdom.
“Partnerships like this make us move from conversation to transformation”, “ said Shayoni Lynn, president of the ACN Advisory Council. “Leadership in financial services and communications has long been lacking in the diversity of voice, experience and perspective. Together, we are committed to changing this – creating space, opportunities and visibility of talents that have been too often overlooked. ”
The extent of the challenge of diversity in our sector is undeniable. In England and Wales, 87% of public relations practitioners are white and only 5% are Asian (CIPR PR population report, 2024). The ethnicity remuneration gap in the United Kingdom is held 25.6%only 14% of senior internal roles And 9% in agencies Held by non -white professionals (PRCA, 2024). At the level of the council, only 6% of FTSE 100 chairs Come from these history (Fair Play Talks, 2025).
“Without intentional action, the difference in diversity will persist and nothing will change, and that simply cannot happen. This is why partnerships like this are so essential ”, said the co-founder Advdita Patel.
Thanks to this 12 -month partnership, Asian employees of Lloyds Banking Group will be part of the ACN foundation circle and will have access to a range of events and workshops organized within the company and in the broad sense. The Lloyds Banking Group management team will work in close collaboration with ACN co-founders to ensure that they reflect relevant ideas and lived experiences of the Asian community in their internal and external strategies while they embark on an important transformation program through the company.
“We are committed to building a more inclusive culture and attracting the talents of the widest range of horizons,” said Andrew Walton, director of sustainability and business manager of Lloyds Banking Group business. “Partnerships like this are essential to maintain progress and provide significant changes. Collaboration with ACN supports our racing action plan, helping us to learn, adapt and act – creating an environment where various voices are allowed to direct with confidence. ”
For media requests, contact Natalie Trice to Natalie Trice Advertising
E: natalieux@natalierice.co.uk
