More than half (55%) of UK workers want the government to commit to introducing mandatory ethnicity pay gap reporting within the next 12 months, according to data released today (8 January) by non-profit People Like Us.
Two fifths (40%) of UK workers surveyed believe that ethnicity pay gap reporting would improve career development opportunities. The proportion rises to 55% among ethnic minority workers.
The data, released on Ethnicity Pay Gap Day (today), revealed that half of the ethnic minority workers surveyed (56%) had discovered that a colleague from a different ethnic background was being paid more for doing similar work.
The key research finding – that 55% of UK workers want the government to commit to introducing mandatory ethnicity pay gap reporting within the next 12 months– reflects growing frustration that reporting has not yet delivered real change for workers, said Jummy Okoya, dean of the office for institutional equity and associate professor at the University of East London.
Okoya explained that for many ethnic minority employees who discover they are paid less for similar work, “the issue is not transparency alone, but trust, trust that employers will act on what the data reveals”.
She said that HR professionals have a vital role in sustaining momentum, not through compliance, but through leadership. Okoya explained that this means moving beyond annual disclosures to embedding pay equity into workforce strategy, progression pathways and reward frameworks.
Dianne Greyson, founder of the Ethnicity Pay Gap Campaign, which raises awareness of ethnicity pay gaps and calls for mandatory reporting, agreed that the research findings reflect “frustration with a lack of visible progress”.
Greyson said that for many workers, particularly those from ethnic minority backgrounds, the issue feels stuck in consultation rather than action. “That’s where HR leadership becomes critical,” she stated.
She explained that HR professionals are uniquely placed to move this conversation forward by treating ethnicity pay gap reporting not as a compliance exercise but as a tool for trust, fairness and workforce resilience.
“When HR connects pay gap data to recruitment, promotion and leadership accountability, reporting becomes a tool for reform rather than a symbolic exercise,” Okoya explained.
“Even without mandatory requirements, employers can choose to measure, publish and act on their data, and in doing so send a clear signal to their people that equity matters,” Greyson added.
She suggested that when employees see transparency paired with action plans and accountability, engagement follows. “If interest is waning, the solution isn’t less focus, it’s stronger leadership, clearer communication and tangible change driven from within organisations,” she added.
People Like Us, a non-profit that supports ethnically diverse communications professionals, commissioned Censuswide to poll 2,003 working professionals aged 18 and over across the UK. The data was collected between 23 and 29 December 2025.
This report was previously titled ‘Support for ethnicity pay gap reporting falls to 55%’, and has since been updated.
