The University of York has pledged to do more to encourage ethnic minorities into better paid jobs after a national tabloid reported it pays black women 41 per cent less than white men.

The Daily Mail has analysed pay patterns at UK universities and found similar discrepancies elsewhere, but it cited York as having one of the top five ‘ethnic pay gaps.’

The newspaper said overall the University of York on average pays black staff 14.8 per cent less than white staff, with two-thirds of Russell Group Universities, on average, paying blacks less than whites.

The Daily Mail also noted how the university says it has a ‘rich tradition’ of ‘fighting against inequality.’

Its website said: “The University of York exists for public good.

“Our founders endowed the university with a strong social purpose, drawing on a rich tradition of social justice and combating inequality in a way that is distinctive to the city of York.”

The newspaper reported the university did not respond to a request for comment.

However, the ‘ethnic pay gap’ can be explained by white people dominating better paid roles such as lecturing, whilst members of ethnic minorities feature more in lower-paid roles like cleaning.

The university told the Press: “We of course offer pay equality to everyone doing the same level of work, as we have a legal and moral obligation to do so.”

A spokesman continued: “Whilst we do not have equal pay issues, our report does demonstrate we need to work hard on our ethnicity pay gap, which means we need to work hard on equalising representation - and diversity - at all levels.

“As a community, we have an absolute commitment to addressing racial inequality and have chosen to report on our ethnicity pay gap to acknowledge where we need to make progress, and hold ourselves accountable for bringing about the changes we need to make."

The University of York then cited two initiatives it is involved in.

In the Yorkshire Consortium fore Equality in Doctoral Education (YCEDE), the university is leading a regional wide role to tackle inequalities in access to postgraduate research.

Five Yorkshire universities are working to improve access and new opportunities, which will include a new scholarship scheme for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) applicants.

The universities will reform admissions criteria and practices to better assess applicants’ potential to do ground-breaking research and generate new knowledge.

Through bespoke mentoring and training, plus new student internships and PhD scholarships, YCEDE will look to inspire and train talented BAME scholars.

The University of York is also working with Sheffield and Leeds universities in a pilot scheme to increase diversity in senior posts.

The White Rose in Leadership scheme aims to offer extra career development to help BAME staff progress into senior academic and professional services leadership positions in the next 2-3 years.