Maybe I have missed something but from what I have read of your letter to Addidas I have to say were it me that had received this letter it would end up in the dustbin. Period!!!

The way your questions are positioned is rather leading to say the least. For example what sort of answer would you expect from a leading brand / organisation to your first question?

Surely they are going to answer no to this question..

I worked for the Whitbread group and we didn't have any of the following practices in place with regards to question 2 - 4.

If you wanted an ethnic breakdown on the employees of whitbread you would find that they employ people from all the ethnic groups found within the M25 corridor. Nonetheless this would not dismiss them from being accused of racism or prejudice simply because of the divisions of labour.

There are several factors that one needs to consider when trying to establish what are the most important issues for an organisation trying to bring about fairness of opportunity within the company!!

For example is it more important to have more women general managers heading up their subsidaries so that there is an equal split of men and women; or should the focus be on race or both?

Both my previous line managers were black and Jamaican holding the title of finance manager therefore it would be difficult to label the Gm as a racist as he employed them. However if you looked at the company from the executive level then you would be hard pushed to find anyone of colour represented at that level.

If you changed your questions and the wording then you might get a more favourable response. The bottom line is the Uk is still predominantly white and as such you must expect the workforce to be representative of that fact.

No doubt your intentions are genuine but your approach is not and thats from a person that considers myself to be radical. So please for the benefit of all people of colour try to be more subtle with your questions.

Regards

Shaka