Q. What can we do as HR leaders, to help organisations address the ethnicity pay gap?
A. That’s a huge question, and there’s a whole range of actions that HR leaders could take. But if you’re just getting started, here are five key steps.
Step one: understand
The starting point should be educating people, so they understand what the ethnicity pay gap is, how to calculate it, what the strategies and challenges are, and the factors that contribute to the problem. Then, we can start to talk about an action plan.
Read more: Ethnicity pay gap persists regardless of high company pay levels
Part of growing in understanding is about asking the right questions: Do we have data? Are we collecting the right data? What are we doing about career progression for people from ethnic minority groups?
Step two: humanise
It’s related to step one, but remember that the ethnicity pay gap is not about percentages; it’s about people. When we talk about the ethnicity pay gap, we're talking about people's lives. Don't see it as just numbers.
Step three: get leadership buy-in and hold leaders to account
I sat down with my director of people and culture to ensure that one of our senior leadership meetings was focused on discussing the ethnicity pay gap. But it's not just about discussing, it’s about holding people accountable. Educate, but also support and work with senior leaders, rather than leaving them to forget about it.
Read more: Government urged to back mandatory ethnicity pay reporting
At UEL, deans and heads of service in each of our schools are supported to create their own local action plan. My office will follow up with those leaders, to ensure that they’re taking those actions.
Step four: be transparent
Organisations need to be more transparent about their data. When they're transparent about it, it brings a higher level of commitment to doing something about it. Sharing where we are leads to ‘and this is what we're going to do next’.
Read more: Labour's mandatory pay gap plans draw mixed reaction
Step five: build awareness
Notice what's happening internally, but also at a wider sector and societal level. Where there isn't much attention being given to the ethnicity pay gap, build awareness, and pay attention to it.
Jummy Okoya is UEL's associate professor in leadership and inclusive practices. She is also dean of UEL’s Office for Institutional Equity
This article was published in the May/June 2025 edition of HR magazine.
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