The number of employers publishing their ethnicity pay gap has increased from 30% in 2020 to 44% in 2023, according to new research.
Business in the Community’s 2023 Race at work charter survey sought the views of nearly 250 UK employers, representing 1.2 million UK employees.
It found no change in the number of employers who have a race champion or an executive sponsor for race since 2020, remaining at 95%. Meanwhile, 53% have targets to increase the racial diversity of their boards and senior executive teams, increasing from 46% in 2020.
Almost all (95%) have a bullying and harassment policy in place, yet only 25% have conducted a review to ensure that these policies are working. This has declined since 2019 and 2020, when 45% and 38% said that they conducted reviews, respectively.
The survey also revealed that 84% support ethnically diverse individuals in leadership, progression, and recruitment, increasing from 74% in 2020. However, only 44% have set objectives for their board and senior team, which include action on race, decreasing from 50% in 2019 and 46% in 2020. Only one in five set objectives on race for line managers, remaining the same since 2020.
Three-quarters (73%) have mentoring or reverse mentoring schemes set up for their Black, Asian, mixed race, and other ethnically diverse employees, rising from 72% in 2020. More than half (56%) sponsor ethnically diverse employees, rising from 46% in 2020.
Sandra Kerr, race director at Business in the Community, said: “It’s encouraging to see an increase in the number of employers taking action to address racial inequalities in the workplace, however, there is still a lot of work to be done. Having policies in place is a step in the right direction, but without understanding if these policies are actually working, employers cannot honestly say that they have robust policies and procedures in place to deal with bullying and harassment in their workplaces.”
