this is worklife from bbc news, with sally bundock and karin giannone. a report out today shows the uk's biggest companies are failing to improve diversity in the boardroom — so what should be done? live from london, that's our top story on wednesday the 5th of february. slow progress in the boardroom — a review into ftse 100 companies finds 37% of firms don't have any ethnic minorities on their boards. also in the programme... making america great again —

president trump hails his success, saying he's created a boom in blue—collarjobs in the world's biggest economy. and banks cut their predictions for economic growth in china — as the impact of the coronavirus outbreak continues to rise. fancy—dress, drama and intrigue — we'll be taking a look at the experience economy with the founder of secret cinema. and as companies struggle to boost ethnic minorities on boards, we want to know, have you suffered bias in the workplace? has it held back your career? just use the hashtag #bbcworklife. hello and welcome to worklife. we start in the uk, where a major report published today is set to show that leading companies are failing to improve ethnic diversity at their leadership levels. the 2020 parker review into leadership has found the increase in the number of black,

asian and minority ethnic — or bame — board directors of major uk companies has been far slower than hoped for. it shows that 37% of britain's most valuable ftse 100 companies do not have any ethnic minority representation on their boards. the survey also looks at the next tier of boards in uk firms in ftse 250. of all the firms surveyed, 69% of ftse 250 companies had no ethnic diversity on their boards. according to recent data from involve, the uk economy is losing an estimated $3.4bn — or £2.6bn — due to ethnic minority discrimination. the research also found that there are more chief executives called steve in the ftse 100 than there are from ethnic minorities. it's a similar picture in the us, where achieving diversity in the boardroom has been a slowjourney. research carried out in 2018 by deloitte found that only 23% of new directors sitting on boards

of fortune 100 companies were non—white. with us now is pavita cooper, founder of diversity and talent advisory firm, more difference. does any of this surprise you? u nfortu nately does any of this surprise you? unfortunately not, it paints a depressing picture. 11 executive is appointed in the last three years. at this rate, we are not going to meet the parker target. are they trying? i think since the parker review, i have seen more concerted effo rts review, i have seen more concerted efforts from organisations that we have seen historically. however, the pace of change is too slow and i think it will require far more than has been done. and for those who are not familiar with the parker review, tell us what it found and how much ofan impact tell us what it found and how much of an impact it had. the parker review was commissioned to look at representation in the largest organisations across the ftse100. it suggested that by 2021, all

boards should have at least one person of colour on the board. at the time, it was pretty pitiful and never have hadn't. but in that time, despite the review, there has been little progress. one of the tricky things is that it is such a sensitive area, race, unconscious bias in the workplace, people are even scared to talk about it openly. in my experience, there is generally a silence around race. people are much more comfortable talking about gender than they were when we started ten years ago, but race is still very difficult. it is complex because unlike women, where there is a homogenous group of people experiencing the same issues, race is multiple people of different faiths, backgrounds and diverse experiences and you can't group people into one group. experiences and you can't group people into one groupli experiences and you can't group people into one group. i wonder what you think should be being done that isn't being done despite all the examination this issue has had?m anyissue examination this issue has had?m any issue around diversity, data helps. so i think more progress around transparency being clear

about every level of the organisation and reporting what representation figures look like, and understanding why that gap exists. if people are not progressing, it gives organisations an opportunity to interrogate why that is. you also have to understand that is. you also have to understand that getting to this elite club at the top is about your network and who you know, and that is hard if you are on the outside. the issues are not dissimilar to those of social mobility. so a cross company mentoring group where chairs can reach out and meet fresh talent, there is plenty of talent, it is just lack of opportunity. and it is not lack of skills, it is about lack of experience. if you have never beenin of experience. if you have never been ina of experience. if you have never been in a boardroom and you don't know what it requires to serve on a board, how do you learn about that? thank you very much, pavita cooper. now, a short while ago us president donald trump concluded his third annual state of the union address to the joint houses of congress. as expected, mr trump struck an upbeat note in a speech that set

out a case for another four years in office. samira hussain has been watching the proceedings. in almost 80 minutes, we heard us president donald trump really talk about the us economy. it is because that is something that has been going very well during his presidency and remember, this is a state of the union address that was given during a year when he is fighting for re—election, so it is unsurprising that the president spent the first part of his speech really dedicated to highlighting his economic accomplishments. why don't we listen to what he had to say. in just three short years, we have shattered the mentality of american decline, and we have rejected the downsizing of americans' destiny. we have totally rejected the downsizing. we are moving forward at a pace that was unimaginable just a short time ago,

and we are never, ever going back. if you look at the way the us economy has been performing, yes, it is true that we are seeing the longest expansion in its economic history. we are seeing record low unemployment rates, an unemployment rate we haven't seen in 50 years. and if you look at the us economy, yes, it continues to grow. but if you look more specifically, the idea that the growth we're seeing in the us economy has been unimaginable, as claimed by mr trump, that's not exactly true. remember, this is a president who said he wanted to see the us economy grow at 4%, 5% or even 6%. but the us economy has been growing at a solid 2—2.5%, at the same level it was under a previous president. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. claims made by ryanair about its

carbon emissions have been banned by the uk's advertising watchdog. europe's biggest airline by passenger numbers had billed itself as the region's lowest emissions airline and a low co2 emissions airline. but the advertising standards authority ruled ryanair‘s claims in press, tv and radio adverts could not be backed up. we'll have more on this shortly. disney is certainly feeling the force today with some marvel—ous results. the firm's star wars and superhero brands helped the house of mouse to increase revenue for the quarter by 36% to $21 billion. and it wasn't just the traditional business that's been doing well, subscriber numbers for disney plus also reflected well on the entertainment giant's move into streaming. elon musk, the billionaire chief executive of tesla, has gone on twitter to ask users if his electric car—maker should build a new gigafactory in texas. the tweet has so far garnered over 102,000 responses with the majority in favour of the new gigafactory. the car—maker currently has two gigafactories

in the us and one in china. to asia now, where fears of the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak are causing banks to cut their estimates for china's gdp growth. let's go to singapore, where shara njit leyl is following the story. so the impact continues? that's right. there is carefully laid out forecasts that banks made at the start of the year, they have had to go back and reject them all because as you say, the impact of the coronavirus is having on the world's second largest economy, china. and it is not just second largest economy, china. and it is notjust growth in china, businesses, everyone from apple to nike and disney have been warning about the impact of the virus will have on their bottom line going forward. many are worried about the economic damage the closure of many

factories is having, a move that is already beginning to hit global supply chains. services is also taking a hit as people are encouraged to stay at home. before the coronavirus, most banks were predicting chinese growth of at least 6% in 2020. now many are saying it will be significantly lower. you have got the likes of ubs and anz all downgrading their growth forecasts. but it is not all doom and gloom, some are predicting that beijing's expected stimulus measures may offset the virus‘s impact on the economy. thank you. so it was more the positive side of that story that was keeping markets buoyant today. it was a strong training session for nearly all the markets, which is good given that the coronavirus, the numbers of people who have died and been infected are going up daily at

the moment. let's look at europe. 0ne the moment. let's look at europe. one of the companies with its numbers going up is the swiss engineering company abb. we have also had bnp paribas out with earnings. it's a busy day for earnings. it's a busy day for earnings. you can see the markets in europe are all down about a quarter ofa%. now to the us, where department store chain macy's is closing over hundred stores and cutting 2,000 jobs in its hunt for growth. michelle fleury has more from new york. shopping malls aren't dying, but the weakest ones are disappearing fast, and that is hurting department stores. the latest casualty is macy's. the chief executive of the 161—year—old chain said it's closing its cincinnati headquarters. new york will remain the single head office. 125 stores, a fifth of its locations, will go over the next three years and it's cutting 2,000 corporate staff.

the move is expected to save it $1.5 billion annually at the end of 2022. the cuts are an admission that it can't succeed so long as shoppers make fewer trips to the mall and spend more time shopping online. macy's isn't giving up yet. the retailer has launched a small store format which will operate under the name by macy's on the day it will try to convince investors of the key to reviving its fortunes. miss flare in new york. time now for our daily look at some of the newspaper and website stories which have caught our eye. joining me is lesley batchelor, international trade expert and chief executive of export boot camps. we mentioned this earlier, ryanair and the advertising standards authority. it has fallen foul by claiming it is a low emissions airline? yes. i read this with interest because they were ranking themselves against 27 of the top

european airlines and i'm wondering whether this is a question of statistics meaning what we want them to mean and perhaps being a bit clever with them. there is no doubt that they are making huge inroads into low emissions and i think of all the airlines, they probably are the best one we have got in the uk. but it's difficult to say when these things happen. well, it depends how it is measured. in ryanair‘s defence, they have said, we have got modern aircraft in terms of c02 emissions. we pack the planes as well. so in terms of emissions per passenger, it is very low. but it's all about how these things are measured, so can you make the claim or not? we can all make statistics read what we would like them to read, unfortunately. ryanair said it would comply, but it also repeats that their emissions per passenger are 25% lower. they reckon that

anyone would be having their own carbon footprint just by anyone would be having their own carbon footprintjust by using their airline, andi carbon footprintjust by using their airline, and i don't think that is unreasonable. let's move on to tesla. every day, it seems, the tesla. every day, it seems, the tesla shares are surging higher. it is that time when the alarm bells go off because you think, should you buy tesla shares today? probably not if they are going to sink quite soon. it is interesting that the saudis are pulling out a bit more. they have invested heavily and are starting to withdraw, which is a sign that things could be going wrong. and they are potentially exposed to this chinese, as everyone is with the virus and other issues. so they have suspended some manufacturing out there at the moment. i always think with something where you have a big brand and everyone is interested because you are a leader, i used to work at coca—cola and the pepsi was were

going on and it didn't matter what you did at coca—cola, pepsi always did something and there was always this thing going on. the brand is so big now that it is vulnerable to being pushed over. and we are hearing it is now going in comparison to some of the more traditional names in the industry. like general motors, ford and chrysler. and ford are plummeting now. they have had a fourth quarter of bad results. this isn't good, but they are building and building because of the emissions in the way we are all thinking now. it's the future. lesley, thank you for coming still to come fancy—dress, drama and intrigue: we'll be taking a look at the experience economy with the founder of secret cinema. you're with worklife from bbc news.

a pretty little thing advert has been banned by the advertising standards authority over concerns that it objectified women. the youtube ad featured women wearing exposing lingerie. the retailer says it didn't mean to "cause any offence", that it "celebrates women" and promotes body diversity. joining us now is miles lockwood, asa's director of complaints and investigations. why did it fall foul of the guidelines? well, this ad was seriously offensive and irresponsible because through the use of creatives, it objectified women. through a cumulative effect, it focused on exposed parts of this woman's body in a way which was unacceptable and overstepped the mark. that is why we have banned the ad today. you could say that although this ad was supposed to be selling clothing, the thing it was

really selling was women as a sex object, and that is wrong. how many complaints did you get about this ad? we only got one complaint, but we don't play a numbers game. the interesting thing about the complainant was that they told us they had been watching a food programme on youtube with their child when this ad appeared, and that drives home the point that advertising invites itself into people's homes unannounced. that is one of the reasons why we take a strict line with sexual objectification in advertisements. it is not acceptable and it is unnecessary. how difficult is it to decide yes or no and whether to uphold a complaint when it is something like this which people might say is subjective? well, it is a subjective thing, you're right. but we have over 55 years' worth of experience in looking at these things. we took to the public, we conduct research and we know there is concern about this issue. if it

looks like sexual objectification, it probably is. this is a young brand. they obviously want to be edgy, that is fine. we don't take issue with that, but there are ways for young brands to speak to young audiences without selling women as sex objects. miles lockwood, the director of complaints and investigations at the asa, thank you. plenty more on that story and the other top stories in business on our website, so do look at the business page online. ryanair are also there, wrapped over its low emissions claims. you're watching worklife. a reminder of our top story — a major report published today shows that leading uk companies are failing to improve ethnic diversity at their leadership levels. the 2020 parker review found that 37% of britain's most valuable ftse100 companies do not have any ethnic minority representation on their boards.

now, have you ever liked a film or television show so much that you wished you could be transported to its fictional world to hang out with the characters? well, our next guest — fabien riggall — says he can make your dream come true. he's the founder of secret cinema, which combines cinema and theatre and allows you to be an active participant. it's all part of the growing experience economy. here's mr riggall to tell us more. tell us about this business. you started it in 2007? yes, it started asa started it in 2007? yes, it started as a love letter to cinema. it was like, what if you could live inside a film is an interactive and immersive experience? i always wa nted immersive experience? i always wanted to do something which went back to the first days of cinema where you dressed up, took part and became part of the movie. tell us what taking part means with secret cinema. for example, with star wars, we turned an old factory into the world of the film and you get given

a character and you live inside the universe of star wars for six hours. and it is secret because you don't know where the location is and you have to rendezvous somewhere first? that is white. it started with the rise of internet culture and we wa nted rise of internet culture and we wanted to do something where you would get given information and told to go to an address and when you arrive, you are in a building that has been completely transformed into the world of the film. how many actors are there and what does it involve ? actors are there and what does it involve? we have a really big team, over 300 people work on each production and over 60 actors. it is almost like a film set. but instead, the audience walk through the set, as it were. how do you decide which films to do? everyone has a favourite film, but some are more suitable for this experience than others. it's a combination. right now, we are doing stranger things, a much loved netflix show. we just

wa nt to much loved netflix show. we just want to be able to explore how we can do lots of different kinds of film. we did films like doctor strangelove, one flew over the cuckoos nest, but also films like top gun, the lost boys, star wars and recently james bond. and this costs what? tickets start from £45 all the way up to £120. pending on the scale of the production. every time we take over these empty buildings and have to build a theatre. it is expensive. you launched in china in september, but you have had of course had to hit the pause button on your operations because of coronavirus. that's right. there has been a ban on most public performances, which is sad. we launched over there late last year and it has been an extraordinary success to see a culture like chinese culture loving the idea of immersive cinema. so we are excited and we will be going back hopefully once things get sorted. tell us about yourjourney. you started on the bottom rung as a

runner. how did you move through the industry? i was always passionate about cinema and i worked on film as about cinema and i worked on film as a runner and then an assistant director, and i started running film nights and i saw the people were interested in the social experience. at the time, people were getting more and more addicted to screens. digital culture was taking over and people really reacted to this idea ofa people really reacted to this idea of a communal experience. more than ever now, it's important that people have that chance to come together away from screens with others to enjoy cinema. this you mention screens, and you don't let people bring in their phones? when we did back to the future, we built the town of hill valley and it was the first year that we banned phones and it changed the whole experience. did they react to that positively? most people were positive. we get so many e—mails from people who say, for six hours, ididn't e—mails from people who say, for six hours, i didn't have to be inside that other world and i could become someone else. i could become a

character in a movie. but presumably, that hampers free marketing for you because they can't instagram it or post videos or pictures? in a way, it has become pa rt pictures? in a way, it has become part of our marketing because more people talk about it to their friends. and word—of—mouth is still the best type of marketing. the idea that we can talk about an experience and take part in it. i know you're looking to the us. la and new york, get ready for secret cinema, but what about beyond that? we are looking at launching in the us. our tea m looking at launching in the us. our team are looking to develop that over there. we want to launch secret cinema all over the world. i'm also launching a new venture which will be about production and distribution and how we can create films which are more impactful to society. and how we can create films which are more impactfulto society. you still use a lot of british actors

regardless of where you are. for example, half the actors you use in china are from the uk, is that correct? that's right. our actors are also directing the show. when you have 1000 in the audience each night, they become characters. so the actors went over to china to work with the chinese actors and educate them about the format of secret cinema, how you create it and how you build it. how much participation is it? this is not for someone who wants to sit quietly in a dark cinema and watch a film undisturbed. with stranger things, we have basically built star caught more when you become part of the world of this extraordinary narrative. so you become a character in hawkins and you get address and the character and you become part of the character and you become part of the world. and everyone dresses up asa the world. and everyone dresses up as a character and a narrative. wherever you are in the experience, you're part of the story. on the one

you're part of the story. on the one you have coming up in the summer is dirty dancing. is it a problem that you anticipate 90% of those buying a ticket will be women? it's not a problem. do you have a lot of male actors? dirty dancing is like star wars. it's an extraordinary celebration of that movie and that innocence. we are building the whole resort and there will be many dancing instructors for the ladies. lots of patricks! great to meet you. the founder of secret cinema, we appreciate your time. we were asking about how you have been impacted at work by bias and you have been in touch. balaji lakshmanandiversity is essential for creativity. no economy can progress by ignoring diversity. that's it from worklife today. there will be more business news throughout the day on the bbc live web page and on world business report.

we'll see you again tomorrow. it is going to be fairly quiet weather—wise over the next few days before, that is, stormy weather arrives for the weekend. but in the meantime, high pressure in charge. that means we have got some light winds across many areas of england and wales. that is why we had some fog forming through the night. it will lift up into low cloud, so it may stay a bit grey in parts of eastern england during the afternoon. elsewhere, though, some sunshine, a bit of sunshine at times in eastern scotland and to the east of northern ireland. showers into the west of scotland. maximum temperatures, about 7—9 degrees but where any cloud sticks around, it will be chillier than that, about four or five.

through tonight, with light winds again, there will be some fog forming, particularly so around southern areas of england, towards east anglia. hello, good morning. we have had some fog this morning across parts of east anglia, around the south—east of england. that will tend to lift and clear away. it is going to be fairly quiet weather—wise over the next few days before, that is, stormy weather arrives for the weekend. but in the meantime, high pressure in charge. that means we have got some light winds across many areas of england and wales. that is why we had some fog forming through the night. it will lift up into low cloud, so it may stay a bit grey in parts of eastern england during the afternoon. elsewhere, though, some sunshine, a bit of sunshine at times in eastern scotland and to the east of northern ireland. showers into the west of scotland. maximum temperatures, about 7—9 degrees but where any cloud sticks around, it will be chillier than that, about four or five.

through tonight, with light winds again, there will be some fog forming, particularly so around southern areas of england, towards east anglia. that is where there is also the risk of some frost in the south and central areas but further north and west, not quite as cold. temperatures in stornoway for example staying up at about eight celsius. there will be more cloud here again during thursday. the best of the sunshine in scotland, to the east of the higher ground. again, for england and wales, a quiet day with light winds, plenty of sunny spells. again, where you get some fog forming through the night across southern areas, it will lift up into low cloud. it may well stick around into the afternoon. temperatures may only be four or five degrees but 7—9 celsius elsewhere. as we go into friday, this area of high pressurejust drifts towards the east and it starts to allow a few weather fronts to move in towards the west. but for the bulk of the day on friday, it is going to be dry. there will be some sunshine. the breeze will start to pick up and eventually we will start to see some patchy rain moving its way

through northern ireland into the isle of man and western areas of scotland, wales and england. throughout saturday, dry for most but more persistent rain will start to move its way in across northern and western areas, along with a strengthening wind. as we go through saturday night, these weather systems move their way through. as we go into sunday, this deep area of low pressure is what we are keeping a very close eye on. really deep, look at the isobars across the chart, really quite windy conditions. there will be some severe gales in places, heavy rain. disruption is likely over the weekend and there's the possibility of some damage as well. we will get the finer details over the next few days. well worth staying tuned to the forecast. goodbye.

you're watching bbc news at 9 with me, joanna gosling. the headlines. president trump makes his state of the union speech and hails "the great american comeback", just hours before he's expected to be acquitted in his impeachment trial. jobs are booming. incomes are soaring. poverty is plummeting. crime is falling. confidence is surging. and our country is thriving and highly respected again. the democrat house speaker, nancy pelosi, clashes with president trump. she's seen ripping up her copy of his speech. at 9.15, we'll hearfrom us political watchers both here and in the us about the president's annual speech and his quest for a second term.