Ethnicity Pay Gap Report 2025
23 December 2025
This is the ethnicity pay gap of the Solicitors Regulatory Authority. Although we don't have to publish this by law, we are sharing this information for the fourth year running.
Pay gap definitions
The ethnicity pay gap is defined as the difference between the mean or median hourly pay rate that White staff and staff from a Black, Asian and minority ethnic background receive.
The mean pay gap is the difference between hourly earnings for staff from a Black, Asian and minority ethnic background and White staff. This is after taking the sum of all hourly rates and dividing it by the total number of White or other Black, Asian and minority ethnic staff.
The median pay gap is the difference between the midpoints in the ranges of hourly earnings between staff from a Black, Asian and minority ethnic background and White staff. It takes all salaries, in order from lowest to highest, and picks the middle-most salary.
Our reporting period
The figures in the tables below are based on hourly rates of pay during the monthly pay period ending on 25 April 2025 and bonuses paid in the year up to 5 April 2025. The figures are compared to those for years ending April 2024, April 2023, April 2022 and April 2021.
Difference in pay between staff from a Black, Asian and minority ethnic background and White staff
In 2025, both the mean and median pay gap have widened compared to 2024.
| Ethnicity | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | +/- percentage point change 2024-25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean pay gap | 21.50% | 17.60% | 12.70% | 11.30% | 12.70% | 1.40% |
| Median pay gap | 15% | 12.70% | 7.60% | 7.50% | 10.50% | 3.00% |
Difference in bonus between staff from a Black, Asian and minority ethnic background and White staff
In 2025, the mean and median bonus gaps have narrowed when compared to 2024.
| Bonus | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | +/- percentage point change 2024-25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean pay gap | 46.9% | 49.5% | 37.7% | 34.7% | 30.1% | -4.6% |
| Median pay gap | 16.7% | 30% | 23.3% | 35.7% | 30.0% | -5.7% |
Proportion of staff from Black, Asian and minority ethnic background and White staff receiving a bonus payment
We have several various bonus schemes for different levels throughout the organisation.
| 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black, Asian, Mixed or Multiple Ethnicity groups | 85% | 77% | 79% | 84% | 79% |
| White | 85% | 85% | 85% | 87% | 86% |
Proportion of staff from Black, Asian and minority ethnic background and White staff in each pay quartile
The table shows the ethnicity split when we divide our workforce by ordering hourly rates of pay from highest to lowest and grouping them into four equal quartiles.
| Upper | Upper middle | Lower middle | Lower | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
White (500) |
2022 | 80% | 69% | 66% | 53% |
| 2023 | 73% | 59% | 65% | 43% | |
| 2024 | 69% | 52% | 57% | 33% | |
| 2025 | 72% | 61% | 56% | 39% | |
| Black, Asian, Mixed or Multiple Ethnicity groups (222) | 2022 | 14% | 22% | 25% | 36% |
| 2023 | 14% | 24% | 23% | 26% | |
| 2024 | 13% | 22% | 18% | 22% | |
| 2025 | 18% | 24% | 28% | 32% | |
| Unknown (154) | 2022 | 6% | 9% | 9% | 12% |
| 2023 | 13% | 17% | 12% | 30% | |
| 2024 | 18% | 25% | 24% | 46% | |
| 2025 | 10% | 15% | 16% | 30% | |
| Total (876) | All years | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
Understanding the gap
Our 2025 median pay gap is 10.5%, which compares well to the average gap of other regulators for 2024 (mean 15%, median 12.5%).
We now have better data, with ethnicity data for 82% of staff in 2025, compared to 72% of staff in 2024. The data shows a greater proportion of ethnic minority staff in lower-paid roles, and a lower one in higher-paid roles.
What we've achieved on ethnicity pay
Overall, we have seen encouraging progress to our ethnicity pay gap, but senior levels remain less representative. We are committed to making our senior leadership team more reflective of our wider workforce.
Here is a summary of the proactive steps we're taking to address the ethnicity pay gap:
- keeping our recognition tools under review (including the Recognition Hub)
- reviewing action plan to improve ethnic diversity at senior levels
- continuing mentoring and reverse mentoring schemes and expanded the Leadership pathway
- keep our recruitment suppliers under review
- an ongoing review of policies, processes and practices to make sure we have environment where all can flourish.
We developed our workforce senior ethnicity inclusion action plan to significantly improve ethnic diversity at senior levels and that work continues. Read about the actions we have taken.
We continue to be committed to a fully inclusive workplace.