BlackRock has pledged to bolster the number of black employees by 30% over the next three-and-a-half years as pressure grows on the world’s largest companies to take meaningful action on tackling racial inequality.

The world’s largest asset manager has also said it will double the number of senior leaders who are black to 6% over the same period. Only 3% of BlackRock's current senior leaders — those in director roles and above — are black.