Professor Mark Coulson from the School of Human and Social Sciences at the University of West London (UWL) has produced a report with Ealing Council entitled ‘Understanding the ethnicity pay gap in the London Borough of Ealing and how this can be addressed.’
National figures suggest that for every £1 earned by white employees, those from ethnic minorities earn 85.2p. The report explores this issue within the London Borough of Ealing specifically. Ealing is ethnically diverse, and contains the largest Polish, Afghan, and Serbian populations in England and Wales, the second largest Japanese and Iranian populations, and the fourth highest Arab population.
The report was motivated by Ealing Council’s Race Equality Commission who wished to better understand the ethnicity pay gap in the borough. Organisations such as Ealing Council and the University frequently report their ethnicity pay gap. This is not currently required by law, but forms part of the Equality (Race and Diversity) Act currently going through parliament and is likely to become a statutory obligation on all organisations with more than 250 employees.
While the current method for reporting the ethnicity pay gap is useful, it has two major shortcomings. First, the definition of ethnicity is overly simplistic. It compares white ethnicities against one other group (which might be labelled global majority, ethnic minorities, or BAME).
Second, we only know about the ethnicity pay gap within organisations who publish it. We know nothing about the broader population. This project aimed to both expand the categories of ethnicity, and to examine their associations with deprivation and income across the entire population of the Borough (over a third of a million people).
“We hope the results of this project generate discussion about how ethnicity pay gaps can and should be reported both within organisations and more generally,” commented Professor Coulson.
“The collaboration between Ealing Council and the University of West London has been a meeting of minds, backed by a commitment to understanding the data, and to generate actions designed to reduce inequality.”
Councillor Kamaljit Nagpal is the council’s lead member for decent living incomes. She said:
“We are already taking positive steps to address the findings in this report. Our new jobs and skills strategy sets out how we will create more inclusive pathways for residents to access good, well-paid jobs. Our work as the first Living Wage Place in west London has seen nearly 1,000 local workers receive pay rises, benefitting people from ethnic minorities who are overrepresented in these relatively low paid roles.
“However, there is still much more that needs to be done. This research is intended to be a shared evidence base that can be used by other local employers to take action. We strongly encourage more organisations to report on their ethnicity pay data. Understanding and tackling the ethnicity pay gap is good for our residents and good for our businesses.”
