Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Latest NewsEthnicity pay gapGender pay gapPay & benefitsPay structures

How to take an intersectional approach to pay transparency

by Aniela Unguresan 19 Sep 2023
by Aniela Unguresan 19 Sep 2023 Pay gaps can affect all groups at work, not just women
Shutterstock
Pay gaps can affect all groups at work, not just women
Shutterstock

Many organisations are focusing their efforts on pay transparency, but need to remember that all aspects of diversity, equity and inclusion need to be considered in pay, not just gender. Aniela Unguresan considers the issues. 

In the face of economic struggles and high employee turnover, doubling down on diversity, equity, and inclusion could be the disruptive shock needed to invigorate the business landscape. But are organisations doing enough?

Pay transparency efforts, which are becoming more common in response to the EU Transparency Directive, often serve as an example of conforming to legal compliance rather than truly committing to a DE&I strategy.

While the new transparency laws will be a powerful tool for encouraging conversations about pay and any pay gaps, business leaders need to reinforce this with other inclusion efforts that demonstrate a commitment to creating equitable workplaces.

Beyond gender

For example, when discussing pay gaps, I think many people forget that other gaps exist beyond gender.

DE&I maturity cannot be achieved by focusing on the gender pay gap as a standalone issue, with ethnicity pay gaps also being seen across the UK and globally.

Pay transparency

Female employees less likely to discuss pay transparency 

Systemic reward: why we need a new approach to pay

An intersectional approach to pay must be adopted to ensure we are considering all aspects of employee identities and how this may be impacting on equity.

While ethnicity pay gap reporting seems like a simple solution to addressing this gap, recent research by EDGE Certified Foundation revealed that France, Germany, Austria, and Belgium do not allow the collection of personal data on race and ethnicity by law.

This poses challenges to addressing ethnicity pay gaps with data not readily available for employers to address.

Even in countries such as the UK where data collection is permitted, a lack of discussion and legal focus on ethnicity pay gaps have resulted in significant pay disparities remaining unaddressed.

A UK study by Robert Walters revealed that 42% of black professionals, for example, had not received a negotiated pay increase in the last year, double the number of their white colleagues. So, why is this not being addressed as a priority?

Unconscious bias

If business leaders are noticing clear disparities in their pay increases or promotions, it is important to consider the unconscious bias that may be influencing these decisions.

It is essential to recognise and understand what biases we may have because of our lived experience, gender identity, social background, and many other factors.

Discussing the issue in an honest and open forum and raising the awareness of unconscious bias is the best way of challenging it within organisations and preventing it from blocking the path to diversity and equity.

It is also key that we remember that pay transparency will not solve the problem. Embedding pay transparency in legislation is key for opening important discussions, but recognising the gaps won’t close them.

You cannot have equity without balanced representation, and this representation is necessary to achieve long-term, sustainable DE&I progress.

Robert Walters’ research found that, in the UK, 41% of Pakistani and Bangladeshi professionals work in the three ‘least-skilled’ occupations.

Embedding pay transparency in legislation is key for opening important discussions, but recognising the gaps won’t close them.”

Companies where all senior professionals are white men and women, with ethnic minority talent in lower levels of responsibility, will still be accepted as providing equal pay for equivalent work. However, this is not what true equity looks like.

Moral duty

Organisations must assess their intentions and ask themselves, are we running pay equity analysis to manage our risk? Or are we committed to investing resources into creating a more diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace? These are two fundamentally different directions.

Examining representation and pay equity across all levels of responsibility helps organisations to identify areas where they may be struggling to hire, retain or promote diverse employees.

While we all have a moral duty to ensure we are committed to diversity, equity and inclusion, it also makes business sense. We are in an economic cycle where there is plenty at stake for businesses, shareholders, employees, and consumers.

The failure to address persistent issues – pay equity and gender diversity, for example – in the workplace has effectively sabotaged the journey to a more prosperous future.

Business leaders need to proceed with calculated boldness to create the disruption needed. There is no better time than now to enthusiastically embrace DE&I because it is the optimal tool to produce the purposeful changes needed to replace time-worn habits with modern ideas and practices.

This will spur a higher level of employee commitment and in turn contribute to overall success.

Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance

Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday

OptOut
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

 

Diversity and inclusion opportunities on Personnel Today


Browse more Diversity and inclusion jobs

Aniela Unguresan

Aniela Unguresan is the Founder of the EDGE Certified Foundation, the leading independent third-party certification for workplace gender and intersectional equity.

previous post
Right to work audits: How HR teams need to prepare
next post
Discover the value of CIPD accreditation.

You may also like

Next to improve wage-setting transparency after shareholder pressure

16 May 2025

Ofgem workers ballot for strike action

2 May 2025

What will reward look like in 2035?

28 Apr 2025

NI increase has not caused ‘knee-jerk reaction’ in...

23 Apr 2025

Post-pandemic starters seek more pay for on-site working

10 Apr 2025

Maisie Adam to host Employee Benefits Awards 2025

3 Apr 2025

Most businesses will need to adjust wages in...

28 Mar 2025

‘British people too polite to talk about salary?...

28 Mar 2025

Senior HR pay rising faster than junior roles

28 Mar 2025

Employee Benefits Awards 2025 shortlist revealed

24 Mar 2025

  • 2025 Employee Communications Report PROMOTED | HR and leadership...Read more
  • The Majority of Employees Have Their Eyes on Their Next Move PROMOTED | A staggering 65%...Read more
  • Prioritising performance management: Strategies for success (webinar) WEBINAR | In today’s fast-paced...Read more
  • Self-Leadership: The Key to Successful Organisations PROMOTED | Eletive is helping businesses...Read more
  • Retaining Female Talent: Four Ways to Reduce Workplace Drop Out PROMOTED | International Women’s Day...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2025

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2025 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+