Ethnicity pay gap: Brands urged to ‘stop paying lip service to diversity’

Is the marketing industry doing enough to attract, retain and reward ethnically diverse talent? Exclusive new data from Marketing Week’s 2025 Career & Salary Survey firmly suggests not.

According to the analysis, the marketing profession has an ethnicity pay gap for full-time workers of 13.3%, up sharply from 8.5% in 2024 – based on a sample 82.9% of whom identify as white.

Co-founder of workplace equality champion People Like Us and DE&I-centric talent consultancy Braver, Darain Faraz, argues the pay gap figure is not only disappointing – it’s unacceptable.

“The staggering change [from 2024] is a wake-up call that progress is slipping away. People Like Us was founded to shine a light on these disparities and what this data tells us is that businesses need to stop paying lip service to diversity, equity and inclusion and start making real, measurable change,” he states.

“Pay disparity isn’t an abstract issue – it’s about people’s livelihoods, their financial security and their ability to progress. If businesses truly value talent, they need to ensure that value is reflected in pay, not just rhetoric.”

Pay gap reporting should be a legal requirement…Until that happens, businesses that truly believe in equity should step up, publish their numbers.

Darain Faraz, People Like Us/Braver

His co-founder Sheeraz Gulsher is equally saddened by the statistic, describing the lack of support for ethnically diverse talent as shortsighted from an industry which thrives on the diverse makeup of its workforce.

“My worry is the real life implications this could have. There are all sort of threats to widen already deeply rooted inequality for marginalised groups in society, meaning they could fall further behind,” he says.

“What that could add up to in the course of a working lifetime could be massive and impacts the next generation.”

Data published in January by People Like Us as part of its ‘#NameTheBias’ campaign found ethnic minority workers are almost twice as likely to have a pay rise or promotion rescinded due to the current economic climate (40% compared to 23% of white workers).

The survey of more than 2,000 working professionals found a third (33%) of ethnically diverse talent would worry about their career progression in a business with a high ethnicity pay gap and consider looking for roles elsewhere, compared to 16% of white employees.

The majority (66%) of ethnic minority professionals surveyed by People Like Us would either discount roles with companies with high ethnicity pay gaps or only consider them if there were other compelling reasons. Indeed, the research finds more than a quarter (26%) of potential employees would not be willing to work for a company with a high ethnicity pay gap, regardless of ethnicity.

Brands urged to tackle ‘name bias’ harming ethnically diverse talent

The persistent ethnicity pay gap is being compounded by decisions from major global brands to scale back diversity and inclusion commitments following the re-election of US President Donald Trump. In January, McDonald’s, for example, announced it will no longer set “aspirational representation goals” for its workforce, while in February, Pepsi confirmed it was axing representation goals in its recruitment.

Faraz insists the industry cannot allow diversity, equity and inclusion to become a casualty of economic uncertainty or political backlash. This goes beyond a moral obligation and is a commercial imperative, he argues.

“Diverse teams drive better decision-making, innovation, creativity and business growth. Right now, brands need to be doubling down, not stepping back. Immediate steps include full pay audits with clear action plans, transparency in salary bands and accountability at the highest level,” says Faraz.

“Because what gets measured gets managed – and if businesses are cutting DE&I initiatives, they need to be asked: What’s your plan for ensuring equity? If they don’t have one, they really need to rethink their priorities.”

This opinion is shared by The Marketing Academy Foundation CEO, Lianre Robinson, who has seen people of colour “locked out of the industry” deciding to create their own opportunities, networks and communities. She has also witnessed the sharp pull back of DE&I programmes within some companies. For those brands that do want to make a change, Robinson agrees it starts with measurement.

“We’ve spent a lot of time moving the industry in the direction of understanding about gender disparity, ethnic disparity and socio-economic disparity, but actually a lot of businesses still do not measure their ethnicity pay gap, nor do they measure their socio-economic pay gaps, or have an understanding of who is making up their business more than at a surface level,” she states.

“That is the number one step if we’re going to address that, because you can’t fix what you don’t know.”

This “missing information” is one of the biggest challenges in addressing the pay gap, says Robinson, who urges the industry to focus energy on understanding the intersectionality between ethnicity, social class and gender.

“So, you’re not looking at that one dimensionally, but thinking about being able to understand the root causes. Once you understand the data and root causes, put plans in place to address them,” she says.

Progression to recruitment

Faraz identifies recruitment as one of the biggest barriers to diversity. The #NameTheBias campaign sought to expose the opportunity gaps that exist from the hiring process onwards, calling out the impact of “name bias” in UK hiring practices.

The campaign draws on 2019 research from the University of Oxford, which found candidates with ethnic minority names typically submit 60% more job applications to secure a callback compared to white British applicants.

“That means talented individuals are being screened out before they even get a chance – purely because of their name,” says Faraz.

Even if they can get their foot through the door, diverse talent often hit a “progression glass ceiling”, then naturally become disillusioned and leave the profession, Gulsher adds.

“It poses serious questions for the marketing industry. Also, the risks involved are quite big. If we’re trying to reach an ever-diversifying population and we’re not reflecting or don’t have those lived experiences in our teams, then the risks are far greater for brands more prone to making mistakes,” he argues.

There are all sort of threats to widen already deeply rooted inequality for marginalised groups in society, meaning they could fall further behind.

Sheeraz Gulsher, People Like Us/Braver

Faraz has seen bias creep in at every stage of the employee journey which, without intervention, compounds over time. When it comes to attracting talent, he urges businesses to rethink where and how they recruit, as hiring from the same networks simply reinforces the status quo.

Anonymised CVs, diverse interview panels and structured, skills-based assessments can help level the playing field, Faraz suggests.

Describing transparency as the cornerstone of great workplace culture, Gulsher believes businesses which publish their salary bands are inherently more equitable.

“If I’m applying for a job and it says ‘competitive salary’ or it doesn’t include one, for me it’s a bit of a flag already, because what that tells me is salary bands aren’t communicated internally,” he explains.

“That’s just not good practice from my point of view. People should have a really clear picture of – even if it’s a wide band – where they sit and how they can progress.”

When it comes to best practice, Gulsher also encourages the industry to demand better from recruiters and never accept a shortlist without at least one diverse candidate.

“They [recruiters] need to be working harder to make sure our industry is more representative, otherwise they are a big part of the problem,” he states. “Essentially they are gatekeepers to fantastic roles in the marketing industry, so we need to be asking more from them.”

Approach equitable recruitment in the same way as a marketing campaign and start by gaining insight on the problem, advises Gulsher. Brands are advised to analyse the point at which diverse talent is cut from the recruitment process, ensuring hiring managers have the right training to interview people effectively and understand their own biases.

Beyond recruitment, progression and retention are blindspots for many businesses that fail to invest in mentoring, sponsorship and “equitable access” to high-profile projects, Faraz argues.

When it comes to retention, Gulsher encourages companies to investigate how many salary cycles an individual has been through, which will indicate the career trajectory they are on. The data could expose a line manager in need of training or structural issues within the company.

“DE&I has come under quite a lot of scrutiny recently. That’s welcome. It should always be under scrutiny, but it should always also be objective,” he adds.

“Where companies can be better is having objective frameworks in terms of pay rises and promotions, so employees are really clear, they know where they are and how to progress to the next level.”

Appetite for progress

As part of the #NameTheBias campaign, People Like Us held a screening at the House of Lords and Houses of Parliament to push for ethnicity pay gap reporting to be made mandatory in the same way as gender pay. The government confirmed it will share a draft bill on making ethnicity pay gap reporting mandatory this parliamentary session ending in July, to be followed by a consultation period.

No business that’s confident it’s paying its employees fairly should want to hide this data, says Faraz. He argues voluntary reporting is about trust, and employees – as well as customers – deserve to know where businesses stand.

“Without hard numbers, we’re all just guessing,” says Faraz.

“But let’s be clear: voluntary action is not enough. Pay gap reporting should be a legal requirement, just like gender pay gap reporting. Until that happens, businesses that truly believe in equity should step up, publish their numbers and commit to real change.”

Once you understand the data and the root causes, put plans in place to address them.

Lianre Robinson, The Marketing Academy Foundation

Publishing ethnicity pay gap data and showing the business is willing to be held publicly accountable is a meaningful statement of intent, agrees Gulsher.

With legislation on the horizon, he believes now is the time for organisations to get their data in order and build trust so employees know that if they share their ethnicity information it will be actively used to help the business improve.

“It’s all about creating that psychological safety and also explaining to your team really clearly what the data will be used for,” he adds. “It’s essentially to identify gaps and allow the company to address them meaningfully.”

Looking ahead, despite the current backlash against DE&I policies there are some signs of encouragement. From a Braver perspective, Faraz reports “huge swathes” of the industry are keen to reassess their hiring practices and explore wider talent pools. In the last few months alone, the consultancy has seen an increasing number of new and existing clients “doubling down” on their efforts.

“They’re refusing to let the backlash against DE&I seep in from across the Atlantic and are instead committing to long-term, structural change,” he notes.

“This proves that there certainly is some appetite for progress still there – it’s just a question of which businesses are ready to act.”

Marketing Week will continue to report on exclusive data from the 2025 Career & Salary Survey over the coming weeks, including exploring in-demand skills and the changing face of recruitment.