• Nearly three in ten (29%) ethnic minority women say their ideas have been ignored, dismissed or rejected until repeated by someone else
• One in five report microaggressions (20%), discrimination (20%) and being overlooked for stretch opportunities (21%)
• Almost half (47%) say they feel behind where they expected to be in their careers
• Ethnic minority women are also more likely to report self-silencing, unfair feedback, the mental load of representation and financial pressure harming their mental health
• The findings also point to clear solutions: transparent promotion criteria, supportive managers, visible senior leaders and pay transparency

Women of colour are facing the sharpest workplace barriers in the UK, according to new research from non-profit People Like Us and Women in PR, with ethnic minority women more likely than any other group to report exclusion, discrimination, blocked progression and the mental strain of navigating unequal workplaces.

Everyday inequality at work

The research paints a stark picture of day-to-day workplace inequality. Nearly a third of ethnic minority women (29%) say their ideas have been ignored, dismissed or rejected until repeated by someone else – compared to 21% of white workers. Alarmingly, 79% of ethnic minority women have experienced issues in the workplace within the last 12 months, by contrast 63% of white women and 65% of white men said the same.

The highest levels of day-to-day exclusion

Ethnic minority women report the highest levels of workplace friction across a breadth of measures. One in five (20%) say they have experienced microaggressions at work, compared to 15% of white women and 11% of white men. The same number (20%) report discrimination at work – more than double the rate reported by white women (9%) and white men (9%).

A quarter (25%) say they have held back from raising concerns because they feared the consequences. A quarter (25%) say they have received unfair or unclear performance feedback. Nearly a quarter (23%) say they carry the ‘representation tax’ – the mental load of representation at work, compared to 16% of white women.

The wider political climate is also having an impact. Only 24% of ethnic minority women say political discussion, media coverage or online commentary around race, immigration or ‘anti-woke’ issues has had no impact on behaviour at work. By contrast, 48% of white women and 40% of white men say it’s had no impact.

Stalled careers, unequal pay and a growing confidence gap

The data suggests that workplace inequality is not only affecting how women of colour are treated day to day, but also how they progress and how they feel about their future. Over one in five ethnic minority women (21%) say they have been overlooked for stretch projects and career enhancing opportunities. Nearly half (47%) say they feel behind where they expected to be in their careers, compared to 41% of white women.

Pay is a major part of that picture. Around 18% of ethnic minority women say they have been paid less than peers in similar roles, whilst a large proportion (58%) say they have discovered a colleague from a different ethnic background was being paid more for similar work. Two thirds (67%) say financial pressure linked to low or stagnant pay has harmed their mental health.

The findings also reveal the personal risk many women of colour feel they take by speaking up. Nearly one in five (18%) say they did not challenge unequal pay because they feared repercussions or career damage, compared to 8.5% of white women. Yet when ethnic minority women surveyed challenged unequal pay, 15% say they challenge the issue and received a pay increase – suggesting that the problem is not only unequal pay itself, but the burden placed on individuals to fight for fairness.

There are wider pressures too. Over two in five ethnic minority women (42%) say family or community expectations have a major or moderate impact on their career satisfaction, compared to 29% of white women – underscoring how workplace inequality can collide with broader cultural pressures rather than exist separately from them. Socio-economic background also plays a role, with workers from lower socio-economic backgrounds more likely to disagree that their line manager actively advocates for their progression (26% vs 18%) and believe they are paid fairly for the work they do (34% vs 27%) compared to those from professional backgrounds.

Location and commuting barriers are emerging as another factor shaping career satisfaction. Around 44% of Gen Z and 40% of Millennials say it is a major or moderate issue, compared to 32% of Gen X and 20% of Boomers, with ethnic minority respondents also more likely than white respondents to report the same (41% vs 35%).

Women of colour are also telling employers what needs to change

The research also points to practical steps employers can take now. The single biggest change ethnic minority women surveyed say would rebuild trust is clear promotions criteria communicated to all staff (41%). They are also significantly more likely to say they want visible senior ethnically diverse leaders (30%), salary bands published in job adverts (26%), and voluntary ethnicity pay gap reporting (20%).

When asked what support they wish they had access to earlier in their careers, the top answers from ethnic minority women are

• Genuinely diverse teams (25%)
• A supportive line manager (17%)
• Transparent promotion criteria and processes (17%)
• A mentor or coach (17%)
• A sponsor – a senior person actively championing them (17%)

Sheeraz Gulsher, co-founder of People Like Us, commented: “The message is clear: women of colour are not asking employers for vague promises or performative statements. They are asking for fairer systems, better support and more transparency.
Employers must act, and Government ministers must publish the draft Equality (Race and Disability) Bill now, respond to the consultation, and bring in mandatory ethnicity pay gap reporting for large employers with action plans to tackle the gaps it exposes.”

Angela Balakrishnan, Vice President at Women in PR, said: “This research reflects what women of colour have long experienced – a Recognition Gap. Despite putting in the work, their contributions are too often overlooked, their progress stalled and their potential under-rewarded. This is not a question of confidence or capability, and it is not just a pipeline problem – it’s a systemic one.

“Businesses risk losing future leaders if they fail to tackle opaque promotion processes, unequal pay, cliques and cultures that silence or sideline women of colour.

“The solutions are not complicated, but they do require genuine commitment: transparency around progression really works, fair and open pay structures, and allies who actively sponsor and champion talent rather than expecting women to push through broken systems alone.

“Our call to action to employers is clear: move beyond statements of good intent, recognise the gaps and start redesigning workplaces so that women of colour can thrive and lead.”

Tom Heys, gender pay gap reporting specialist at Lewis Silkin added: “These findings confirm what we’ve seen for too long: women of colour continue to face barriers to progression and fair pay. Transparent pay structures, clear promotion pathways, and regular monitoring are essential to create workplaces where talent can thrive. While the UK is not directly covered by the EU’s Pay Transparency Directive, multinational employers are already using it as a benchmark. UK organisations that actively measure and act on both gender and ethnicity pay gaps are better positioned to close barriers, secure talent, and meet emerging international standards.”

People Like Us is calling on the UK Government to set a timeline for the implementation of the Equality (Race and Disability) Bill so that businesses can start to prepare and collect pay gap data to enable them to take action.

To support action, People Like Us and Women in PR have published a series of actions for businesses, allies and women of colour, designed to help turn good intentions into tangible change at work.