New survey to explore impact of pay inequality on Black women

The Ethnicity Pay Gap campaign has launched an online survey that aims to explore the impact of pay inequality on Black women living in the UK. 

The survey was developed in response to the Fawcett Society’s 2017 briefing The Gender Pay Gap by Ethnicity in Britain; which found that up-to-date evidence of income disparity for minority ethnic women was not available. The newly launched survey aims to give Black women a voice; because “too often we are ignored or unheard”, pointed out Dianne Greyson, Founder of Ethnicity Pay Gap campaign.

Greyson’s Ethnicity Pay Gap campaign has two main objectives. The first is to make it a legal requirement for companies to both report on and address pay disparity based on race. Secondly, to highlight and encourage companies to eradicate the cultural and systematic practices; which both generate and fuel pay inequality. “As of 2020, only 23% of companies had published data about ethnicity pay disparity,” she noted.

ETHNICITY PAY GAP REPORTING

Last year, a petition to introduce mandatory ethnicity pay gap reporting was launched. It gained well over 100,000 signatures; the threshold needed to justify a parliamentary debate. “Despite this, no date has been set for that debate as yet,” explained Greyson. “I sent an open letter to Kemi Badenoch, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Equalities, as well as others to highlight the staggering extent of the pay gap; which according to a latest report stands at around £3.2 billion. I was very underwhelmed by the response. Shortly after, the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities report was published, which did not even endorse mandatory reporting; much less recommend making it a legal requirement for employers to address pay disparity based on race. My suspicion that this government is not committed to addressing the ethnicity pay gap was confirmed.” 

The government’s lack of action on the matter inspired Greyson to develop the newly launched ethnicity pay gap survey. She hopes, it will build on the “success of the first-ever Ethnicity Pay Gap Day that took place on January 8 2021”, as reported.

SAFE SPACE FOR BLACK WOMEN

Greyson is encouraging all Black women living in the UK to take part in the new research. “I’m very excited at the prospect of providing a space for Black women to share their experiences of pay discrimination. The survey will take no more than six minutes to complete. Our campaign also plans to interview some of the respondents and then formulate a report that will also contain a list of recommendations for remedial action”. You can complete the ‘Ethnicity Pay Gap – Experience of Black Women In The UK’ survey, officially launched today by clicking here.

Most minority ethnic groups continue to earn less than their White colleagues, according to the latest figures from the Office of National Statistics. Click here to read more.