The data industry needs to up its game on diversity and inclusion and “take action for greater equity” or risk falling behind other sectors, according to a new report which shows little progress in D&I over the past 12 months, despite employers listing it as a key priority.
That is the rallying cry from Sadiqah Musa, the founder of Black in Data – a collaborative movement for people of colour working in the sector – following the publication of the “State of Diversity in Data & Analytics” study from recruitment firm Harnham.
The report reveals a mixed landscape, with pockets of both progress and stagnation, with working mothers suffering from growing pay gaps and diversity severely lacking within more senior positions, although for first roles there is far higher data gender parity.
Musa, who is also a lead analyst at Trustpilot, said: “Black people are often given the double burden of experiencing racism and discrimination, and then being expected to fix it.’’
“This year, the theme of Black History Month is ‘Time for Change: Action Not Words’. I challenge all of us in the data industry to be courageous, educate ourselves, and take action for greater equity.”
While the report recognises that there are initiatives being taken by employers to actively improve diversity, it drives home the need for the industry to continue to put its money where its mouth is to remain innovative.
The findings reveal that despite the data industry being celebrated as a sector that is ethnically diverse – white professionals make up a smaller percentage of the industry (75%) than they do of the UK population as a whole (86% nationally) – there are still big gaps in pay and opportunity, not only for black professionals, but for gender diversity and people with disabilities too.
It points out that while there are fewer white professionals than the national average, not all other ethnicities are seeing increased representation.
For instance, while Asian/Asian British professionals account for 15% of the industry (compared to 7.8% in the 2011 Census), Black/African/Caribbean/Black British professionals only account for 3% of the industry (compared to 3.5% in the 2011 Census).
In previous years, the gender pay gap has exceeded the ethnicity pay gap, often by some distance. This year, however, this is no longer the case, as it now sits at 8% (compared to 6% with gender), a pay gap up over 50% from last year.
The highest-paid individual group in the industry are white men, who earn an average of £69,260 a year, whilst the lowest paid group, are women from a Black/African/Caribbean/Black British background, who earn an average of £53,850; a pay gap of 22%.
When it comes to gender, the figure is exactly the same as 2021, with 28% of professionals across the entire industry being women. The report points out that while this does not signal significant improvement, it does imply that last year’s fall – from 30% to 28% – was not the beginning of an ongoing downward trend.
Positively, the gender balance in professionals who are in their first role in data, moves significantly closer to parity, increasing to 40%, up from 28% across the entire industry.
Nevertheless, there are certain sectors – data and technology, data science and digital analytics – which report fewer female professionals than last year. Most prominently, digital analytics reported a drop from 37% female, to 32%.
The gender pay gap across professionals in data and analytics is 6%. This is not only an improvement on last year’s figure, but also falling below the UK average of 9.8% – a broadly positive sign.
Even so, there are areas where pay inequality is more prominent, such as for parents. Male professionals with parental responsibilities earn £76,700 on average, whereas female professionals in the same position take home significantly less – an average of £65,580; a pay gap of 14%.
These figures are tempered by the fact that all specialisms surveyed reported a gap smaller than the UK average, ranging from data and technology on 9% to marketing and insight, where women were actually paid 1% more than their male counterparts.
Despite rising awareness around the importance of equality in leadership, there is a significant trend of diversity decreasing as seniority rises, with representation of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic professionals falling from 42% at entry-level to just 16% at director level.
While less extreme within gender, the industry does appear to be falling behind as nearly 40% of UK FTSE 100 board positions are held by women yet on 26% of directors across the data industry are female.
Harnham maintains there are several potential reasons for this but taking an extended career break (of over three months) for childcare may have an impact.
While 21% of women working in data and analytics had taken an extended break for this reason, only 3% of male professionals had.
Harnham chief executive David Farmer said: “Although we should be positive about the progress the industry has made, clearly, this is not the time to hang up our boots.
“It is vital to us that we continue to monitor the industry’s progress and do not shy away from revealing where gaps exist. There is no benefit in burying our heads in the sand, we must instead continue striving forwards.
“We know that change takes time, but I firmly believe if businesses and, crucially, educational institutions keep pushing for better diversity, we will see significant change over the next five to ten years.”
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