The Principles for Responsible Investment has reported a 20.8 percent ethnicity pay gap and a 15 percent gender pay gap in its first internal UK pay disparity report.
The pay gap data, collected in April last year, is based on the organisation’s 150 UK employees.
In the UK, it is only mandatory for employers with 250 or more UK-based staff to report on the gender pay gap, and there is no legal requirement for companies to report on their ethnicity pay gap.
Despite not being legally required to do so, the PRI said it wanted to disclose its pay gap in line with best practice and for transparency.
Commenting on the results, CEO David Atkin said: “Our findings show we have good gender balance, and a comparably low gender pay gap, but we recognise the need to improve our racial/ethnic diversity, particularly at senior levels.”
In a progress update on its global workforce published in January, the PRI disclosed that it had failed to meet its target for Black candidates to count for 10 percent of new hires, with only 4.5 percent Black candidates appointed.
The organisation also missed its goal for Black, Indigenous and people of colour (BIPOC) candidates to make up 30 percent of new hires globally, falling short at 26 percent. But it surpassed its target for BIPOC employees to make up a minimum of 30 percent of promotions.
The report attributes these shortcomings to its low count of employees from an ethnic minority background. As of August, when the data was collated, 56 percent of the workforce identified as White, 1 percent as Black, 16 percent as Asian, 4 percent from another ethnic group and 4 percent from a mixed-race background.
A higher proportion globally of White candidates also progressed through the recruitment process than BIPOC applicants last year.
Gender pay gap
For the UK gender pay gap, while the PRI’s is lower than the financial industry average – which is the largest in the UK at 31 percent, according to analysis from the Trades Union Congress – it remains significant at 15 percent.
The report said there is evidence the organisation is supporting female talent, with women in its global workforce accounting for 72 percent of promotions and more female candidates progressing through the recruitment process than men.
It also reported a pay gap in favour of women at -7.9 percent at director level for UK female employees, as well as a near 50/50 male female split in the highest salary bracket.
In January 2022, the PRI released a new global pay policy which was implemented last July. It plans to introduce targets on inclusion and employee experience based on staff engagement survey data later this year.
The organisation said it will also work to ensure there is consistency in performance reviews, tackle recruitment biases, consider how to encourage more diversity in applications for senior roles and enhance career support for those already employed.
Other targets for its global staff include maintaining a minimum of 50 percent women or non-binary employees at every level, and a year-on-year increase in the proportion of Black employees – which stood at 2.43 percent in January 2022.
Progress will be reviewed in the PRI’s annual report, which is due to be published in September.
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