The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has released figures that should be a wake-up call for employers, policymakers, and anyone who values equity in the workplace. Over a 10-year period (2012–2022), Black, African, Caribbean, and Black British employees were the only ethnic group to consistently earn less than their white counterparts.
Not once in that decade did the gap close.
This isn’t a footnote in a diversity report or a blip in the data. It is a systemic inequality; the ethnicity pay gap in its clearest, most persistent form.
And it’s long overdue for change.
Key Messages
1. This is not just a ‘diversity issue’, it’s an economic and moral imperative.
The data proves what many have known and lived for years: that pay equity is not just elusive, it’s actively being denied. We cannot claim to be fair or inclusive employers while these disparities persist.
2. Pay gaps are not abstract. They shape lives.
These aren’t numbers in a spreadsheet or dots on a graph. They’re barriers to:
- Accessing safe and secure housing
- Meeting the rising cost of living
- Sustaining good mental health
- Building intergenerational wealth
The pay gap is an everyday reality with generational consequences.
3. Equity must be more than a value – it must be a verb.
If equity is truly part of your organisation’s DNA, then confronting and closing the ethnicity pay gap must be part of your action plan, not just your values statement.
Actions to Take Going Forward
Audit with intention:
Conduct a full ethnicity pay audit not just a gender one and break the data down by role, grade, contract type and region. Data transparency is the first step to accountability.
Name the gap and talk about it internally:
Silence maintains inequality. Open up the conversation across your teams and leadership and give voice to those impacted by the gap.
Publish your ethnicity pay gap reports:
Voluntary publication builds trust and pushes the needle forward. It shows commitment, not just compliance.
Build an action plan and link it to performance indicators:
Tackling the pay gap must be an organisational priority. Tie progress to leadership accountability, promotions, and funding where appropriate.
Invest in progression, not just recruitment:
Ensure Black, African, Caribbean, and Black British employees are not just hired but retained, developed, and equitably promoted.
Collaborate with community partners and EDI experts:
Co-create change by working alongside those with lived experience and specialist knowledge. This is not a journey to take alone.
Conclusion
The ONS data is a sobering reminder that systemic inequity doesn’t resolve itself it is sustained when people in power fail to act.
The ethnicity pay gap is more than a statistic. It’s an injustice. It’s a call to action. And it’s a test of whether your organisation is ready to do more than speak the language of equity – but to live it, every single day.
Change is not only necessary, it is overdue.