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John Allan has controversially commented that the push to increase diversity in the workplace has made it harder for men to become non-executive directors. Speaking to an audience of executives at Retail Week Live, he said: “If you are female and from an ethnic background and preferably both then you are in an extremely propitious period. “For a thousand years men have got most of these jobs, the pendulum has swung very significantly the other way now and will do for the foreseeable future I think. “If you are a white male – tough – you are an endangered species and you are going to have to work twice as hard.”

The comments come as an increasing number of companies face mounting pressure to bring more women into the boardroom, especially from ethnic minorities. Supporters of the changes hope they will more accurately reflect the changing face of British society.

GETTY All 11 members of the Tesco board are white

At Tesco, all 11 members of the board are white, and features just three women on its top team. Two of its female non-executive directors - Alison Platt and Lindsey Pownall - only joined the supermarket last year. Despite being Britain’s biggest grocer, Tesco ranks a joint 33rd on the “Female FTSE” league table, an incredible seven places behind rival J Sainsbury.

GETTY Women made up just 29 per cent of UK boards last year

According to Mr Allan, the future will see men having to work much harder to attain a top spot. “There is loads of female talent out there, you have got to be prepared to look for it,” he said. Women accounted for just 29 per cent of directors appointed in the UK last year, according to headhunters Egon Zehnder - the lowest proportion since 2012.

Responding to criticism over his comments, Mr Allan issued a statement on the Tesco website. “I would like to clarify the remarks I made earlier this week at a Retail Week Live panel event where I was speaking to aspiring Non-Executive Directors, many of them women. “The point I was seeking to make was that successful Boards must be active in bringing together a diverse and representative set of people. “There is still much more to be done but now is a good time for women to put themselves forward for NED roles. “In all the organisations I have been involved in I have been a committed advocate of greater diversity and very much regret if my remarks have given the opposite impression.”

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