UK pays Chinese, Indian employees more than other ethnic minorities, fails to address racial diversity, report finds
- Black, Bangladeshi and Pakistani workers earn up to 16 per cent less than White British workers; Indian and Chinese earn 16 per cent and 23 per cent more
- Easy to overlook this gap for BBP workers if ethnic minority individuals are lumped together under umbrella reference ‘Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic’
Measures to address racial equality among British workers fall short because they fail to consider the needs of different groups.
While Black, Bangladeshi and Pakistani workers earned 15 per cent to 16 per cent less than White British workers, Indian and Chinese workers earned 16 per cent and 23 per cent more, according to a report by consulting giant McKinsey.
Yet it’s easy to overlook this bigger gap for BBP workers if ethnic minority individuals are lumped together under an umbrella reference like ‘Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic.’
The report, from the consulting giant’s Institute for Black Economic Mobility, comes as momentum in racial equality seems to have stalled, with persistent pay gaps and workplace discrimination highlighting how far employers still have to go to achieve equality at work.
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Companies trying to boost ethnic-minority representation need to consider the factors holding each race back, as well as the additional challenges women in each group face, the report said.
“Many organisations have risen to the challenge of understanding their progress in championing racial equity and supporting the advancement of diverse workers”, said the report. “However, they have found fair and equitable progress hard to achieve – in part because the needs of different groups vary considerably and must be reflected in diversity initiatives”.
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Getting hired in the first place can be a struggle for BBP workers; women from this group are more likely to be rejected on the grounds of not aligning with the cultural values of a company, according to the report.
But while many diversity, equity and inclusion efforts often include a reshaping of recruitment strategies, retention among such workers has remained a problem. Part of the challenge, according to the report, is a lack of both a support network and champions at the upper levels of companies.
