Pay distributions between whites and ethnic minorities show fewer differences. Chart 5: Distribution of hourly pay by gender and ethnicity  Source: ONS Labour Force Survey and Bank of England calculations. 9  All speeches are available online at www.bankofengland.co.uk/speeches  9  Chart 6 plots the mean hourly pay by decile for different ethnicity and gender groups. In 1997, white males earned more than all other groups, on average, across the entire distribution. The same is broadly true in 2018, except that ethnic minority males now earn more in the top decile. Females continue to earn less than males right across the distribution. The difference between white females and ethnic minority females is relatively small across the distribution. Chart 6: Mean hourly pay by decile for ethnicity and gender interaction groups  Source: ONS Labour Force Survey and Bank of England calculations. (c)  Unconditional gender and ethnicity pay gaps  Unconditional gender and ethnicity pay gaps are calculated as the difference between median male (white) gross hourly earnings and median female (non-white) earnings, divided by median male (white) earnings.8 As with published pay gaps for companies, these measures make no attempt, at this stage, to control for factors driving or explaining these gaps; they are unconditional pay gaps. The unconditional gender pay gap is large over the sample, averaging just over 22% (Chart 7). This gap has shrunk over the past 25 years, from around 30% in the mid-1990s to around 20% in 2018.

The geographical proximity and cultural similarities have been reinforced by the diverse strengths that exists in the region. These factors have been important in enhancing the integration process. As this greater regional economic and financial integration is advanced, it will serve as a powerful catalyst for the future expansion of intra-regional trade and investment, creating a self-sustaining and mutually reinforcing economic growth in the New Nusantara region. Ladies and gentlemen: It is my pleasure today to speak on the potential role of an integrated economic and financial platform within the Nusantara region, a region of rapid economic growth in which almost 300 million Muslims resides. My remarks will focus on the potential generated by a collaborative platform and the significance of building linkages between the Nusantara region with other parts of the world. The region's current economic progress, prosperity and financial stability has now accorded us a new strategic window of opportunity to develop new value propositions to unleash the full potential accorded by the accelerating economic and financial integration process. There are already encouraging formal and informal inter linkages between our respective financial markets as well as a higher level of engagement between the respective corporate communities, the market participants and the authorities. A collaborative platform that is based on the diverse comparative advantages of the Nusantara economies can benefit from the complementarities between our respective economies. Essentially, these opportunities will increase the potential to expand markets, increase products lines and deepen the research and development capabilities.