Companies in the UK are still engaging in racial discrimination.

Such is the claim of a study recently conducted by the Chartered Management Institute (CMI), Department for Work and Pensions and the Institute for Employment Studies, which questioned 1,350 managers.

It was discovered that one in three Asian managers and one in five black managers believe racial discrimination has acted as a barrier to their career progression.

This compares to just under ten per cent of those of mixed ethnicity and one per cent of white managers.

"Despite increasing demands for openness and transparency, many of the barriers to achieving greater diversity at a senior management level persist," stated Jo Causon, director of marketing and corporate affairs at the CMI.

She added that this should be seen as a "key concern" for employers as they may be missing out on talent as a result.

In other news, research conducted recently by the Confederation of British Industry and the Trades Union Congress suggested that improving workplace diversity can have "real businesses benefits" for firms.