The UK’s ethnicity pay gap has persisted over the past decade, when factors like occupation, qualifications, geography, age and sex are taken into account, according to statistics released on Wednesday.
Among UK-born workers, black employees had the biggest pay gap, earning 5.6% less than white employees.
Non-UK-born black employees registered the highest pay gap in 2022, earning 12% less than UK-born white workers, according to the statistics produced by the Office for National Statistics.
Dr Shabna Begum, the interim co-CEO of the Runnymede Trust, said the fact that the ethnicity pay gap persisted was “absolutely shameful”, adding that “hostile migration policies” were feeding into it.
“Based on current progress, it will take around 40 years for these gaps to close, even if white British men’s pay were to remain the same,” she said.
“There is also clearly evidence that hostile migration policies are impacting the salary outcomes of black migrant workers, who are earning a shocking 12% less for the same job,” she added.
While the “raw” pay gap – the simple differences in pay between ethnic groups – has closed in recent years, with many ethnic minority groups earning more than their white counterparts, the gap narrows and is often reversed when pay-determining factors are taken into account.
The strongest factors that influence a person’s pay are occupation, qualifications, geography, age and sex. Country of birth also has an impact on how much employees are paid. Workers born outside the UK tend to be paid less than white UK-born employees, and the pay gap is bigger for people from ethnic minorities.
Black workers born outside the UK were closely followed by non-UK born Asian workers and employees from the other ethnic groups who earned 10% less than their UK-born white peers in 2022.
The Trades Union Congress general secretary, Paul Nowak, said ”structural racism still plays a big role in determining black workers’ pay and career prospects – and this government has done nothing to change that”.
The vast majority of workers from an ethnic minority background earned less than UK-born white employees, but the new analysis shows that, in 2022, workers from the “Other” ethnic group – which includes Arab and other ethnicities – earned 3.8% more than their white peers.
A government spokesperson said that they “would continue to support employers in measuring pay gaps and identify examples of good practice. This is part of delivering our inclusive Britain action plan to tackle unjust disparities in employment, education, health and criminal justice.”
However, Begum said the ethnicity gaps could not be closed without entrenched structural inequalities being tackled.
“Mandatory, intersectional pay gap reporting is a vital first step in measuring and understanding the scale of pay disparities,” she said.
“Narratives that ignore or downplay racialised inequalities, as well as debates that demonise migrants, all play a role in reproducing rather than rejecting these inequalities.
“Amid a cost of living crisis in which people of colour are disproportionately struggling to feed their families or keep the heating on, these gaps aren’t just data points, they represent people’s lived realities and demand immediate, overdue action.”
