Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 24 April 2023 to Question 181548 on Equal Pay: Ethnic Groups, if she will provide instances in which ethnicity pay gap reporting may be inappropriate for tackling disparities in employment.

In April 2023 the Government published guidance to employers on voluntary ethnicity pay reporting.

As the guidance explains, ethnicity pay reporting is a complex measure and can be affected by many factors meaning it is easy for the data to be misinterpreted or misunderstood. One reason for this is that, while gender pay analysis involves a comparison between two groups, ethnicity pay analysis can potentially involve many more ethnic groups. Additionally, employers may also have to decide how to best combine different ethnic groups to ensure both reliable results and protect confidentiality.