The cost of living crisis affects us all, but it does not affect us equally. Research from People Like Us, a non-profit organisation, has found that people from minority ethnic backgrounds are disproportionately impacted by the challenging economic environment. Our findings show that this disparity starts in the workplace.
Working professionals from ethnically diverse backgrounds are nearly twice as likely to have been told they won’t be getting a promised pay rise this year due to inflation (19% compared with 10% of white professionals). To compound matters, two-thirds (67%) of racially diverse working professionals believe that a white colleague doing the same job is on a higher salary.
It is a simple equation. Ethnically diverse workers are more likely to experience stagnant wages and therefore more likely to experience economic hardship. These issues are set to deepen as the energy crisis continues.
We anticipate that the next prime minister will tackle such inequality, not just on moral grounds, but also to drive the growth that a diverse and empowered workforce is proven to deliver.
To achieve this, we need to make businesses accountable for their pay disparities. Mandatory gender pay gap reporting has helped address the balance between men and women. We are calling for mandatory ethnicity pay gap reporting to do the same on grounds of race.
We would urge the next prime minister to take the initiative and introduce this without delay. This will address a fundamental imbalance, tackle a critical policy issue and ensure career progression and ambition is truly accessible for ethnic minority workers.
Sheeraz Gulsher
Co-founder, People Like Us
