Closing the ethnicity pay gap could boost UK GDP by £24bn annually; a new CBI member guide helps firms address the barriers that ethnic minorities face at work.
Closing the ethnicity pay gap is about making society fairer and overcoming inequalities. And it’s not only the right thing to do: the business case for it is watertight.
In Bridge the gap – a new CBI guide exclusively for members, supported by Eversheds Sutherland – the CBI helps firms to practically tackle their ethnicity pay gaps through learning from other business’ initiatives. The guide also identifies the true benefit to UK business and the economy: bridging the ethnicity pay gap could uplift UK GDP by up to £24bn a year, and companies with the most ethnically and culturally diverse executive teams are 33% more likely to outperform their peers on profitability.
Though there is no single, quick solution to closing the ethnicity pay gap, Bridge the gap recommends three actions that will help businesses to make significant progress:
- Establish a culture of trust where employees feel they can disclose their ethnicity
- Champion diversity and inclusion from the top and embed it in your company’s attraction, recruitment and progression practices
- Create a culture of inclusion by starting a conversation about race at work.
Using real case studies from firms of varying sizes in different sectors and regions, this practical guide explores how members can take action across these three areas, alongside how to make tangible and lasting change.
CBI members can download their copy of the guide here.
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. Firms have to get better at speaking about race at work; developing campaigns to encourage employees to share their ethnicity; and creating strategies to improve BAME representation all the way up to the boardroom. Business can be a real force for good. But to build a fairer society, all of us business need to take action now. The CBI is committed to help companies learn from each other and make progress – until UK business is truly representative of the society it serves.— Matthew Fell, CBI Chief UK Policy Director
