We can see a certain problem with ethnic pay gap protection

Over and above the problem of this being attempted management of the economy at too great a level of detail that is. We simply do not believe that government is able to deal with things at this level of fineness. But as we say, beyond that.

Inequality has risen over the last decade, with BAME families disproportionately hit by the pandemic and the cost of living crisis, as well as being on the sharp end of cuts to the NHS, education and the criminal justice system.

Anneliese Dodds, the shadow women and equalities secretary, said: “It has never been more important to deliver race equality. Inequality has soared under the Tories and too many black, Asian and ethnic minority families are working harder and harder for less and less. This is holding back their families and holding back the economy.

The problem being in the numbers used to analyse or explain differences in ethnic pay, that ethnic pay gap.

On the raw figures British born Black, Asian or Asian British, Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups and Other ethnic groups all in fact get paid more than White. When we include overseas born Black with British born then that group does earn less. This is something that has happened in this past 5 or 6 years, from 2018 onwards or so, a reversal of the earlier paid less than.

When we drill down further into these numbers and correct for geography then the picture changes. For this higher pay is partly at least an artefact of the concentration of ethnic minorities in London, where pay is significantly higher than the rest of the country - but so are living costs as well.

When we drill down further to examine by education level and so on then the picture changes once again.

The point being that the situation is complex. And, OK, so it’s complex.

However, it’s complex in the opposite direction from the gender pay gap. On those raw, national, figures women earn less than men. On those raw, national, figures ethnic minorities earn more than whites. On the fully adjusted for working hours, jobs done, education levels, geography of workplace, job for job, parental status and so on then women do not earn less than men. But some ethnic minorities do earn less than whites, others more.

Which is, we think, something of a problem for at least one or the other set of complaints. If it is the properly adjusted gap that we should all worry about then gender pay has been solved. For which Hallelujah, obviously. If it is the raw and unadjusted gap that is the problem then there is nothing to do - unless we’re to start worrying that whites are underpaid - about the ethnic pay gap.

To change the method of measurement midstream as it were, to say that unadjusted is important when talking of gender and adjusted when talking of ethnicity is to, we would suggest, be overly picking and choosing which numbers to pay attention to. Almost as if there’s a manipulation of the figures in order to create a political issue that requires action.