THE FOUNDER of the ethnicity pay gap campaign has written an open letter to senior officials and politicians to fight the significant pay gap that ethnic minorities face in their working lives.
Campaigner Dianne Greyson wrote to Minister Kemi Badenoch, Mayor Sadiq Khan, and UK CEOs, Directors and Senior Managers in an effort to refocus attention as the ethnicity pay gap now stands at a staggering £3.2billion in the UK.
As the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reports a 23.8% pay gap in London, a 12.7% pay gap in Yorkshire & Humberside, and a 10.3% pay gap in Scotland, she believes that now it is more important than ever to confront an issue that “too many are reluctant to address despite its glaring reality across the UK, in too many workplaces and for too many people.”
Following on from a turbulent year for many ethnic minority people with the disproportionate impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on their communities, 2020 has proved itself to be “a year of loss.”
The devastating economic impact on millions throughout the UK, and the presence of an ethnicity pay gap all contribute to uncertainty for communities that are disadvantaged, and whose futures remain unknown.
Dianne hopes that with her campaign, and its support from major organisations such as The Voice Newspaper, The Fawcett Society Equality Trust, Equality Trust and Black and Asian Lawyers for Justice, this year will be a true “catalyst to change” for many.
The first official ethnicity pay gap day
As a quarter of companies (23%) are now only just calculating their ethnicity pay gap, the campaign further calls for the 8th January this year to be the first official ethnicity pay gap day.
The day’s objectives are to raise awareness of the UK’s ethnicity pay gap, while encouraging dialogue in organisations and requiring the government to set a debate day on mandatory reporting of the Ethnicity Pay Gap.
Now, with over 100,000 signatures of the petition to fully end the pay gap, Dianne is making certain that Parliament follow through to make their promise a reality.
She also believes that the business sector needs to be a major part of driving this force for change and exploring how they can challenge this issue head on.
With plans to be recognised as a “legitimate and crucial” initiative alongside issues such as the Gender Pay Gap, Dianne calls for “2021 be the year to act with a collective voice to initiate national debate as a crucial step on the path to eradication of ethnicity pay inequity.”
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