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Accounting for firms in ethnic wage gaps across the earnings distribution

Author

Listed:
  • Van Phan

    (Bristol Business School, University of West of England)

  • Carl Singleton

    (Economics Division, University of Stirling, Stirling)

  • Alex Bryson

    (UCL Social Research Institute, University College London)

  • John Forth

    (Bayes Business School, City St Georges, University of London)

  • Felix Ritchie

    (Bristol Business School, University of West of England)

  • Lucy Stokes

    (Competition and Markets Authority (CMA))

  • Damian Whittard

    (Bristol Business School, University of West of England)

Abstract

Most studies of ethnic wage gaps rely on household survey data. As such, they are unable to examine the degree to which wage gaps arise within or between firms. We contribute to the literature using high quality employer-employee payroll data on jobs, hours, and earnings, linked with the personal and family characteristics of workers from the population census for England and Wales. We reveal substantial unexplained wage gaps disadvantaging ethnic minority groups among both women and men. These disparities occur predominantly within firms rather than between them and are especially pronounced among higher earners. The patterns vary significantly by gender and by ethnic minority group compared to white workers. Since most of the wage disadvantage for ethnic minorities is within-firm, our results suggest that the UK’s recent legislative reforms on firm-level gender pay gap reporting should be expanded to encompass ethnicity pay gap

Suggested Citation

  • Van Phan & Carl Singleton & Alex Bryson & John Forth & Felix Ritchie & Lucy Stokes & Damian Whittard, 2025. "Accounting for firms in ethnic wage gaps across the earnings distribution," DoQSS Working Papers 25-02, Quantitative Social Science - UCL Social Research Institute, University College London.
    • Handle: RePEc:qss:dqsswp:2502
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Employer-Employee Data; Unconditional Quantile Regression; Decomposition Methods; UK Labour Market;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • J7 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination
    • J71 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination - - - Hiring and Firing

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