Racial inequalities within employment have been discussed for many years but have been met with minimal progressive change with ethnicity pay reporting in the UK.
As it stands ethnicity pay reporting is not a mandatory requirement for employers in the UK but employers like PwC and Sodexo have led with voluntary publication in which this level of transparency has brought light to gaps in which reporting has shown a decrease in the pay gap.
Data
Organisations need to utilise employee data pertaining to pay and rewards for employees to delve into areas that could highlight areas of inequality to close the pay gap.
With the data currently not being disclosed and published, it could send a message to individuals from ethnic minority backgrounds that inclusion and diversity are not on the agenda for employers. This can widen disparities and deter diverse candidates from applying for job openings owning to potential pay discrimination.
View the list of Race at Work Charter signatories of employers taking progressive action to ensure ethnic minority employees are represented through a commitment to ensure clear support of fairness of equality, career progression, diverse leadership roles for ethnic minorities, and capturing ethnicity pay data whilst being transparent with the progress.
Transparency
Whilst some employers may omit salary information from job adverts for the sake of competitors or for an upper hand in negotiations it presents a frustrating occurrence for many job seekers as many want to know upfront the salary range on offer and if it is worth their time applying.
More pay transparency in the recruitment process can lead to better pay equality for candidates from diverse backgrounds progressively closing the pay gaps.
Transparency surrounding closing the pay gap could also mean more trust from employees and job seekers in which there will be less ambiguity around being paid less due to their ethnicity.
Job searchers want to know what they are signing up for when dedicating time to applying for jobs of interest the lack of transparency in the hiring process can lead to issues in employment.
There is still an essential need for transparent insight with ethnicity pay reporting platforms that publish their reports that can be digestible for all.