CBRE nudges ethnicity pay gap in right direction

CBRE UK’s advisory business has reported a 0.9% shift in its mean ethnicity pay gap from 15.44% in 2019 to 14.5% this year. The adviser said the pay gap reflects the current structure of CBRE’s UK workforce, which has a greater number of white employees in senior positions. Ethnic representation has increased across all quartiles of the UK business, but the greater rates of change were in the lower quartiles. As a result, the median ethnicity pay gap was 14.8%, an increase of 0.7% on the 2019 figure. Just 6% of director level and above positions within CBRE’s UK advisory business are currently held by ethnic minorities. The firm has set itself a target of 10% by 2025. Some 20% of associate director and below roles in London are held by ethnic minorities, with just 8% outside London. CBRE has a target of 30% and 15% respectively by 2025. Ciaran Bird, divisional president, advisory services and chief executive of UK and Ireland at CBRE, said: “This report forms part of our ambitions to both create change in our business and to hold ourselves accountable. While this report shows some promising data that indicates we are making progress, there is a need for continual action to accelerate change. Our focus remains on outreaching to schools, non-cognate universities and our cities to establish the property industry as a career of choice for many and not just a few.” Natalie Barnicott, head of people in CBRE’s UK advisory services business, added: “Our ethnicity pay gap demonstrates our continued commitment to transparency and accountability and ensures we are being open about any equality gains while also monitoring closely for any regression. Our Race Taskforce and Race Ethnicity and Cultural Heritage Network will be pivotal in helping to instigate change and develop the actions and behaviours that will tackle racial inequity in our business.” In a bid to help accelerate progress, CBRE said it was committing to 75 work placements over three years to raise the profile of the property sector to underrepresented groups in partnership with UK charity CareerReady, was targeting non-traditional graduate pathways to bring diverse talent into the sector, had established a race taskforce to identify key barriers for underrepresented groups in the workplace, and had launched a global policy on racial misconduct and an ethics helpline, reaffirming its commitment to zero tolerance for racism. So far, five of the major consultancies have reported their ethnicity pay gaps. Last month, Savills reported a mean pay gap of 19.6%, Colliers a 20.4% gap, JLL a gap of 16.3% and Cushman & Wakefield a gap of 29.4%. Ethnicity pay gap reporting is currently voluntary. Read CBRE’s ethnicity pay gap report >>    To send feedback, e-mail samantha.mcclary@eg.co.uk or tweet @samanthamcclary or @EGPropertyNews