CBI urges companies to publish their ethnicity pay gap details - here's why

The call is made today by Britain’s biggest business organisation the CBI, who said companies should publish their ethnicity pay gap data, in the same format as they already do for gender.

It claims that doing so can help companies work towards gaining a deeper source of “competitive advantage” and that race equality across the UK labour market would result in a £24 billion boost to the economy per year, equivalent to some 1.3 per cent of UK GDP.

A spokesperson said: “With the Parker and McGregor-Smith reviews underlining slow company progress to date, businesses must take urgent action to understand, report and close their ethnicity pay gaps.”

Bridge the Gap recommends three areas where companies should focus their efforts:

- Building inclusive company cultures where all employees feel confident to disclose their ethnicity;

- Leading from the top to champion race equality across organisations and improving how they attract, hire and promote BAME employees;

- Encouraging open, inclusive conversations about race at work.

Matthew Fell, CBI Chief UK Policy Director, said: “Closing the UK’s ethnicity pay gap is about making our society fairer and overcoming inequality at work. Not only is it the right thing to do: the business case is watertight. Diverse companies are better companies.

"Firms already know that embracing a wide range of talent represents a real competitive advantage. Which is why they should not be waiting to act until legislation is introduced by Government.

“Companies who are already reporting their ethnicity pay gap understand what long-term, meaningful action they need to take to tackle race inequality at work. They are leading from the front - improving how they attract, hire and promote employees from ethnic minority backgrounds.

“But many companies have so much more they can and should be doing.”