Workplace equality campaign group People Like Us has unveiled a new hard-hitting campaign in its fight to bring an end to the UK’s stubborn ethnicity pay gap.
Developed in partnership with creative agency Worth Your While, #NameTheBias will look to expose how hidden “name bias” in UK hiring practices impacts ethnic minorities’ earning potential before they’ve even earned an interview.
Launched to coincide with Ethnicity Pay Gap Day (8th January), the work calls on the government to take urgent action to remedy pay disparities through the publication of a new survey by People Like Us and Censuswide.
Centred around a starkly shot black-and-white film, the creative aims to spark national conversation, educate policymakers, and push for a timeline for the introduction of mandatory ethnicity pay gap reporting.
Drawing on research carried out by Oxford University that reveals that candidates with ethnic-minority names must submit 60% more job applications to secure a callback compared to white British applicants, the campaign group’s film also urges business to make positive changes on its end.
Directed by New-land’s Naghmeh Pour and starring British Bangladeshi lyricist Yasmin Ali, the film subverts Shakespeare’s age-old question: “What’s in a name?”
Subscribe to Marketing Beat for free
Sign up here to get the latest agency-related news sent straight to your inbox each morning
“This campaign exposes how name bias quietly contributes to unequal pay and career stagnation for millions of workers,” People Like Us co-founder, Sheeraz Gulsher said.
“By sparking awareness and offering practical tools, we aim to empower individuals and push businesses and policymakers toward meaningful change.”
The film is set to be screened at events at both the House of Lords and Houses of Parliament on 8th January, alongside a live poetry performance by Ali herself.
This latest work follows on People Like Us’ ‘Autocorrect Bias’ campaign, which highlighted the inherent biases in the technology, which consistently, and erroneously, corrects non-Anglophone names.
Worth Your While creative director and partner, Tim Pashen added: “This campaign exposes how name bias quietly contributes to unequal pay and career stagnation for millions of workers.
“By sparking awareness and offering practical tools, we aim to empower individuals and push businesses and policymakers toward meaningful change.”
