Ethnicity Pay Gap
The ethnicity pay gap is a measure of the difference between the average hourly earnings of Black, Asian and minority ethnic staff and white staff.
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Goldsmiths recognises and is committed to challenging the structural barriers experienced by people of colour. To enable us to create equity within the College we are voluntarily reporting our ethnicity pay gap on an annual basis, and taking active steps to address it.
Unlike gender pay gap reporting, ethnicity pay gap reporting is not required by law but there are growing calls to make it a statutory requirement. This includes a 2022 report from the House of Commons Women and Equalities Committee, which said such reporting should become mandatory and that publishing this data was a first step in addressing such disparities.
The data presented below reflects all staff whose ethnicity is known by the College.
Pay profile by quartile
Staff are ordered from highest- to lowest-paid, based on the hourly pay rate used for the pay gap calculations. This data is then divided equally into four to create the pay quartiles.
| Quartile | Asian | Black | Mixed Ethnic Background | Other ethnic background | White |
| 1 (highest) | 7.6% | 4.9% | 4.5% | 1.6% | 81.3% |
| 2 | 7.4% | 7.2% | 7.9% | 5.7% | 71.8% |
| 3 | 7.6% | 9.0% | 7.6% | 6.1% | 69.7% |
| 4 (lowest) | 8.5% | 29.3% | 6.7% | 8.1% | 47.3% |
| Total | 7.8% | 12.4% | 6.7% | 5.4% | 67.7% |
The ethnicity pay gap
We calculate our ethnicity pay gap using the same methodology set out in government regulations for calculating our gender pay gap.
- Mean ethnicity pay gap was 15.7%. This means the average hourly salary of Black, Asian and minority ethnic members of staff was 15.7% lower than the average for white members of staff
- Median ethnicity pay gap was 17.7%. This means the average hourly salary in the middle of our Black, Asian and minority ethnic staff population was 17.7% lower than the equivalent white staff salary
The ethnicity pay gap for each group in comparison to white staff is below:
|
Ethnicity |
Mean |
Median |
|
Asian |
5.6% |
8.1% |
|
Black |
26.0% |
31.6% |
|
Mixed ethnic background |
8.5% |
7.8% |
|
Other ethnic background |
15.5% |
17.2% |
Data as of 31 March 2021 shows:
- Mean ethnicity pay gap was 15.2%. This means the average hourly salary of Black, Asian and minority ethnic members of staff was 15.2% lower than the average for white members of staff
- Median ethnicity pay gap was 16.4%. This means the average hourly salary in the middle of our Black, Asian and minority ethnic staff population was 16.4% lower than the equivalent white staff salary
Pay profile by quartile
| Quartile | Asian | Black | Mixed ethnic background | Other ethnic background | White |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (highest) | 7.5% | 4.3% | 4.3% | 1.4% | 82.5% |
| 2 | 5.8% | 6.5% | 7.1% | 6.7% | 73.9% |
| 3 | 7.3% | 8.2% | 7.1% | 6.0% | 71.3% |
| 4 (lowest) | 7.3% | 28.5% | 6.0% | 7.1% | 51.1% |
| Total | 7.0% | 11.9% | 6.1% | 5.3% | 69.6% |
The cause of our ethnicity pay gap
The proportion of black, Asian and minority ethnic staff is lowest in the top pay quartile (Q1) and highest in the lowest pay quartile (Q4). This is the primary cause of our ethnicity pay gap.
What are we doing to create sustainable equitable change
The Race Justice Strategic Framework has been created to enable the identification and uprooting of systemic drivers of race discrimination, bullying and harassment at Goldsmiths. The Race Justice Strategy Board intends to directly address every driver of race discrimination, bullying and harassment identified within the Strategic Framework to overturn the historical legacies of race inequity at the College.
The information below sets the steps that are currently being taken to address the ethnicity pay gap at Goldsmiths:
Recruitment and selection review
A new recruitment and selection procedure was introduced in Autumn 2021 along with additional guidance on equitable interviewing and positive action. All Chairs of recruitment panels are required to undertake training in recruitment and selection. This has a strong emphasis on anti-racist practice and positive action.
As part of the Race Justice Strategic Framework, specific measures and targets for recruiting and promoting staff to senior roles within Goldsmiths have been set, in order to address the under-representation of staff of colour in these roles.
Career progression for Goldsmiths staff
In Autumn 2021 the Academic Promotions procedures were amended to include greater acknowledgement of the work undertaken by staff in relation to EDI, with the aim of ensuring the work undertaken (often by staff of colour and other minoritised groups) in relation to EDI is better recognised as part of career progression.
Guidance for line managers on conducting PDRs in an inclusive way has been published on Goldmine and integrated into staff training. The guidance aims to encourage line managers to proactively support the career progression of staff of colour and other staff who face barriers to career progression. The PDR process will also be reviewed to ensure it is delivered in a way that proactively supports the career progression of staff of colour at Goldsmiths.