The Solicitors Regulation Authority has said more law firms should publish their ethnicity pay gaps after revealing its own disparity in earnings. In 2021 the mean pay gap between white and other staff was 21.5% and the median pay gap was 15%. White staff account for 88% of those in the upper pay quartile and 100% of the SRA senior management team, the SRA said.

Around nine out of 10 SRA staff disclosed their ethnicity, with 66% of the workforce white and 26% from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds. The ethnicity pay gap shows the difference between the mean or median hourly pay received by white staff and those from minority ethnic communities. Unlike gender pay reporting, such disclosure is voluntary.

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Philip: 'Our data shows that we have a long way to go'

Paul Philip, SRA chief executive, said this was the first year the regulator has published its ethnicity pay gap data and it was important to take the lead in the legal sector.

‘Some law firms are already publishing this data and we would strongly encourage others to follow suit,’ said Philip. ‘Our data shows that we have a long way to go. Although we have good ethnic diversity in our workforce, we don’t when it comes to diversity in senior positions. That isn’t acceptable.'

The government consulted in 2018 on mandatory ethnicity pay gap reporting, but has yet to formally respond. According to the latest report of the women and equalities committee, 19% of employers publish ethnicity pay gaps, up from 11% in 2018.

Pay gap data reported by the Office for National Statistics in 2018 indicated considerable disparities. Black employees earned on average 9.2% less than white employees whilst employees of Bangladeshi or Pakistani heritage earned 16.9% and 20.2% less.

 

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