Research has revealed that 42% of black staff do not receive a pay increase after negotiation, which is double the number of white professionals who reported the same.
The findings come from a new whitepaper from recruiter Robert Walters, entitled Driving diversity and inclusion in the workplace, which surveyed more than 7,500 professionals between the years 2019 and 2021.
The report also found that 63% of black women do not receive a pay increase following salary negotiation. When analysing those who were successful in gaining one, the research highlighted that 21% of black staff have the lowest success rate, receiving 75% to 100% of their requested rise.
By comparison, more than a third of white employees (35%) received 75% to 100% of the increase they asked for.
Furthermore, 37% of black staff said the reason why they do not attempt a pay negotiation is because they feel their employer not agreeing is a large deterrent, compared to 23% of white employees who answered the same question.
Habiba Khatoon, director at Robert Walters, believes the report specifically highlights the failures that come from a lack of effective inclusion, where company structure, culture, and policies negatively impact underrepresented groups.
She said: “While D&I has rightly been a prime concern for leadership teams, who now understand how critical an active D&I policy is for their organisation’s success, it remains the case that almost no protected characteristic – be it gender, sexuality, ethnicity, disability, or age – can be said to be properly represented in the workplace.
Khatoon added that there has indeed been positive conversations and policies introduced in the past two years to tackle the issues around representation, but warned it is an intersectional and complex matter .
“The nuances of D&I mean that some conversations are, in some respects, still in their infancy, with considerable room for progress,” she concluded.