Ethnic pay gap scar on multi-cultural London: mayor
Xinhua,December 11, 2017 Adjust font size:
LONDON, Dec. 11 (Xinhua) -- London Mayor Sadiq Khan on Monday announced a new drive to tackle a pay gap affecting thousands of black, Asian and minority ethnic workers.
Khan pledged to lead by example on London's black, Asian and minority ethnicity (BAME) pay gap as part of a drive to tackle inequality in the British capital.
The mayor plans to publish data on the pay gap affecting BAME employees in City Hall and across the Greater London Authority (GLA) group, as well as setting out how he will bring about changes to address this.
Khan said: "We rightly champion the richness that diversity brings to our city but too often some of those in the BAME community earn less than other Londoners. As long as this unfairness continues, it's a scar on our city and I'm determined to do all I can to tackle it."
The mayor said causes of the pay gap can be deep-seated, but the effects harm not only the individuals but also their families and their prospects for the future.
Khan added: "I will be leading by example from City Hall and I'm urging all London businesses to join me in doing what they can to right this injustice."
Last year, the mayor fulfilled a manifesto commitment by publishing a gender pay audit for organizations across the GLA family, including Transport for London (TfL) and the Metropolitan Police, along with changes to the GLA's recruitment practices.
The audit found that at that time, women employed at City Hall on a full-time contract were paid an average of 21.38 pounds an hour (28.63 U.S. dollars), while their male counterparts earned on average 22.40 pounds, equating to a pay gap of 4.6 percent. This compared to an 11.9 percent gap for all full-time workers in London.
Sandra Kerr, race equality director at London's Business in the Community, said: "Monitoring and publishing ethnicity data is critical for organizations to identify any gaps and measure progress against them, and doing so demonstrates the mayor's commitment to drive the diversity agenda forward." Enditem