PAY TRANSPARENCY – #EthnicityPayGap

On the 30 March 2023, the European Parliament adopted the legislative proposal of the European Commission to strengthen the application of the principle of equal pay for equal work or work of equal value between men and women through pay transparency and enforcement mechanisms (the Pay Transparency Directive.

This directive is very important, there is potential for this to cover Ethnicity Pay Gap and the Disability Pay Gap for that matter.

In October 2020 the Fawcett Society pushed for a new Equal Pay Bill which would give women the ‘right to know’ what a male colleague was earning.

As above such an enactment could give an opportunity for the Ethnicity Pay Gap to be addressed.

Apparently, the government is also currently reviewing legislation around pay transparency and has implemented a pilot scheme where participating employers will list salary details on job adverts, and not ask candidates about their salary history during the hiring process.

The importance of pay transparency is clear to me. This would be a great way to finally close discriminatory practices relating to pay.

An article in Forbes December 2022 states, that research undertaken by Talent.com identified that 78% of job seekers in England believe that salary transparency is a good thing, with 74% arguing that it creates a fairer environment for both the worker and their colleagues.

It seems many organisations are reluctant to support pay transparency, there is fear that this could lead to mutiny amongst their workers or put pressure on their salary budget. Are these concerns valid?

I will leave it to you to answer that question. The Ethnicity Pay Gap would likely have a better chance of not existing if there was pay transparency. Why can’t we get behind such an initiative?

As we are no longer part of the European Union, we will not benefit from the new directive which is a terrible thing.

What will our government do to circumvent these pay discrepancies? The #EthnicityPayGap Campaign is in its 5th year, fighting for the rights of Black, Asian and other ethnic groups to be paid fairly.

What has been evident, the government seem to be turning a blind eye to this issue. I am aware of other people and organisations starting to push for Ethnicity Pay Gap Reporting.

I am going a bit further, I am also asking the government to hold organisations to account ensuring that they show evidence of a real attempt to close the gap. It is not good enough to just report on the existence of the gap.

#EthncityPayGap Campaign is fighting on behalf of the people it affects. There can be no change without action. pay transparency could be a way to get Ethnicity Pay Gap on the agenda.

Let us work together to bring about positive change. Remember, having an Ethnicity Pay Gap is a discriminatory practice so let’s work to end it.

Learn more