Breaking Barriers in Recruitment Redefining diversity and inclusion in the workplace through personal experience and community-driven solutions.

Meet Denise Myers, CEO of London based Evenfields, a recruitment firm focused on connecting diverse talent with career opportunities, and founder of the Evenfields Community, a grassroots organisation supporting Gen Z and emerging Black talent in their career development. Denise champions diversity through the Black Talent Awards.

In this interview with Entrepreneur UK, Myers shares how she's harnessing the power of diversity, inclusion, and community-building to fuel both business growth and meaningful social impact.

What inspired you to create Evenfields Careers, and what recruitment gaps were you addressing?

A bad experience at a job interview when I was young reminded me that, as a Black woman, I operated on an uneven playing field. Following a phone interview, the office manager said that I had everything plus more than she was looking for in a candidate. I was invited to come to the office and spend two hours with the person whose job I was to take, as part of a handover.

Upon arrival, I pressed the buzzer and saw the shock on the person's face. I was immediately ushered into a conference room where I was left alone for 15 minutes. Upon their return, I was thanked for coming and that they would let me know the outcome of the application via the agency. Afterwards, the recruitment consultant who thought they had successfully placed me in this position, was speechless. I asked what they had said to the employer. Why was I suddenly unsuitable for the job at hand? The recruitment consultant looked blank. Nothing was said. They had not called this out nor stood up for me. The sudden retraction of the job offer wasn't questioned.

What key moments shaped your journey to becoming a CEO?

Certainly, my work ethic, shaped by family life, has made me the CEO I am today. I was born and raised in Tividale, just outside Birmingham, the youngest of six children. My Jamaican parents arrived in the UK in the late fifties as part of the Windrush generation. You can imagine Tividale having very few Black faces in those days. But there were a few local Jamaican families with whom my family eventually bonded.That's when I really saw the value of community. Later, I would harness this very power of community in my business to improve diversity and inclusion in the job market.

The values of respect and hard work were drilled into us from an early age. As far as my parents were concerned, we had no limits to our potential. There was no assumption that our blackness would frustrate our efforts to achieve our goals so long as we received a good education, worked hard and took the opportunities presented before us. The earliest seminal moment for me was when I shared my career aspirations of being a social worker with my teacher who said that I had to lower my sights and strive for something more achievable, like getting an office job at the local factory. It made me only more determined to prove him wrong.

Another major moment was when I was sitting in a conference chaired by the Metro mayor and attended by private sector businesses in Birmingham, talking about inclusive leadership. Here, every single organisation that presented their "pledge" had shown improved success in meeting the majority of their inclusivity targets – from gender imbalances, and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ+) to disabilities – except for race. The problem stemmed not just from recruitment inefficiencies but also from the lack of retention and progression of employees from Black and ethnic minority backgrounds. There needed to be a dedicated, concerted effort to change these dismal statistics; to understand the determining factors preventing people of colour from applying for jobs, upskilling and progressing to properly engineer an impactful solution, not just initiatives that yielded vanity metrics.

What strategies helped you navigate your path to leadership?

Never losing sight of that personal and business mission. That has kept me grounded at times when I have felt particularly lost at sea, which inevitably happens when you set up and establish a business; but it's also the driving force that helps me to consistently reach those business goals. #

I also believe that the path to leadership cannot be trodden completely on one's own. Having a network of supporters, mentors, enablers and allies facilitates the journey. Asking for help can be the most difficult thing for many people, but I truly believe in the power of community. I have gratefully received help on my pathway to leadership and it's part of this ecosystem that I help others to navigate their journey to their version of success, too.

Related: Fostering Equity

How has the UK's cultural landscape regarding diversity and inclusion changed recently, and what further changes are needed?
Post-pandemic and the murder of George Floyd in 2020, we saw how institutions and employers across industries suddenly awakened to the extent of their collusion in maintaining racially biased systems that prevented them from becoming truly fair and equitable businesses. Many reappraised their operations – particularly in light of talent attraction, engagement and progression. Whilst seismic shifts in racial equality throughout the world of employment are still yet to happen (McKinsey reported that racial parity is, in fact, 320 years away), perhaps we can feel a little encouraged that change is happening.

The race riots across the UK this summer remind us that racism continues to thrive and grow thanks to the continued proliferation of provoking words from prominent figureheads, politicians and social media platforms that demonise people of colour. The backlash against diversity and inclusion has gained more momentum of late. Business leaders must be vocal about their stance against racism. Leaders must raise their voices because their employees won't forget who stood with them and who remained silent.

What role can UK entrepreneurs play in fostering a more inclusive workforce for ethnic minority communities?

Entrepreneurs must be mindful of conscious and unconscious biases that affect how they hire, nurture, and promote talent, shaping their organisations' success. About 95% of startup entrepreneurs have at least one bachelor's degree or higher, or come from a privately educated background, so there can also be a tendency to hire 'what you know.' This is understandable and 'safe' but it's the precursor of a homogenous and more creatively limited team.

As further education becomes increasingly expensive, the talent divide will only widen. Businesses must adopt more innovative approaches to identifying talent, such as partnering with grassroots organisations that help young people from underserved backgrounds break into specific sectors, or working with specialist recruiters who connect top candidates with the right opportunities.

Equally important is the retention and advancement of ethnic minority talent, ensuring diversity efforts are sustainable with clear pathways to leadership. Black professionals, especially Black women, face the so-called "glass ceiling," but for them, it's more like a "concrete ceiling"—with tougher, more immovable barriers than other marginalised groups. Not all inequalities are the same.

Right now, it's a relative rarity to have a white woman govern powerful boards. It should be normal to have FTSE 100 Black CEOs. So entrepreneurs can and do have a part to play in facilitating change by resetting the narrative of what is 'normal' and what is the 'anomaly'. They can do this by hiring and operating their organisation differently.

How can UK startups effectively measure their ethnic diversity progress, and which metrics should they focus on?

Measurements can be a bit of a blunt tool when it comes to assessing progress. For example, the Parker Review, an independent report led by Sir John Parker, found that the UK's leading listed companies were not representative of the public they served. To catalyse change, it made a series of targets: "One by 2021" for all FTSE 100 boards to have appointed at least one director from an ethnic minority background by 2021 and a "One by 2024" target for all FTSE 250 boards. In subsequent years, the updated reports revealed minimal progress, and then the report published in 2023 painted a much more optimistic picture. It was concluded that diversity targets on boards had been "effectively" met, albeit a year later than the expected deadline.

However, measurements are meaningless without rigour, yet many lump all ethnic minority employees under the broad "Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic" (BAME) label, masking deeper inequities, especially for Black talent, the most disadvantaged group. Until this is addressed, these metrics will continue to distort reality.

Diversity measurements should not only count ethnic minority hires but also track their progression from entry-level to boardroom, and how long it takes. Other key indicators include whether strategies have boosted applications from ethnic minorities and whether these employees feel represented, safe, supported, and invested in for long-term success. Only then can businesses truly assess the impact of their diversity efforts.

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