Visit of Sir Gus O' Donnell to the Centre

The Centre invited Sir Gus O'Donnell, Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Home Civil Service, to deliver a lecture to the Centre on the Economic Contribution of Muslims to British Society.

Sir Gus outlined the deep impact of the current global financial crisis and the challenges facing the British Government in the months ahead. He said that it was important for the British economy to adapt to changing conditions and emphasised the need for leadership from the business community.

Sir Gus went on to examine the contributions of entrepreneurs and self employed businessmen from ethnic minorities to the wider British business community. He pointed out that some of the most successful of these had come from the Muslim community, and that there were many further opportunities for such participation. With Muslim women's employment lower than the national average, Sir Gus felt that there could be an improvement in their participation in the workforce. He hoped that new policies being put forward by the Government would encourage women as well as increasing numbers of young people to take up new opportunities for work. Sir Gus suggested that developments might include moving geographically towards new job markets and learning new skills.