Ethnicity pay gaps

SIR – With Covid-19 rocking the foundations of our economy and society, it is more important than ever that employers take urgent steps to support black, Asian and minority ethnic colleagues from disproportionate impact.

Today, we are asking the Prime Minister to join us in that mission by making it mandatory for organisations to report on their ethnicity pay gap.

Too often, people think that pay gap data are just about the numbers. In fact, they are just a means to an end. By elevating conversations about our ethnicity pay gap to our executive teams and our boards, we give those who work for us – and those who want to – the faith that we take the time to understand their different perspectives.

We are proud that we are already taking steps voluntarily to publish our ethnicity pay gap and pleased that | 11 per cent of companies have already done so. But voluntary publication will never be enough: until all organisations with more than 250 employees have to report on their pay gap, none of us will have the depth of insight that we need to bring about change at the right scale.

We know that this Government cares about business and does not want to give us an impossible task when we are all facing such monumental challenges. However, our message today is simple: we don’t see this as a burden. We know that this works and that we can teach other organisations to follow our lead.

The UK’S businesses stand ready to make this country one of the fairest places to work in the world. Mandatory ethnicity pay-gap reporting would be a monumental step towards that ambition: we are only waiting on the Prime Minister’s word.

Amanda Mackenzie

Chief Executive, Business in the Community

Richard Iferenta

Vice-chair, KPMG

Dame Carolyn Fairbairn Director-general, CBI

Frances O’grady

General Secretary,

Trades Union Congress

Sir Ian Cheshire

Chairman, Barclays Bank UK Andrew Haines

Chief Executive, Network Rail and 24 others; see telegraph.co.uk