Pay disparity increases at Forbes, union study says

Unionized journalists of color at Forbes magazine continue to be paid significantly less – and stay on staff for significantly shorter periods of time –  than their white counterparts, according to a new study by Forbes Union and The NewsGuild of New York.

In its third year analyzing newsroom worker data, the Forbes Union’s pay equity study looked at the earnings of 80 unionized editorial employees at the business publication. As of September 2025, there are 80 employees covered by the Forbes Union, including 79 full-time staffers who are paid an annual salary.

Among the takeaways:

• Shrinking staff: The unit has fallen to 80 members as of September 2025, down more than 25% from 108 members in August 2023 and still well below the 93 members in 2021. (As of the Nov. 1, 2025 census, which the union received after completing this study, there are now 84 members.)
• Turnover has worsened inequities: Of the 30 longest-tenured members, 29 identify as white. Only one is a person of color. Two people of color were promoted into management, but nearly 15 people of color left in the past four years alone.
• Racial disparities worsen: White employees average $95,089, compared with $87,500 for Asian, $74,557 for Hispanic or Latino, and $71,438 for Black employees. Racial pay gaps have increased in every category since 2023.
• Persistent gender gap: Women earn $7,754 less on average than men (a slight improvement from the $11,280 gap that existed in 2023) and have a median salary that’s $4,480 lower.
• Stagnant pay: Median salary has stayed flat at $80,000 since 2023, and the average salary has declined slightly, from $91,129 to $90,382.
• Erosion of real wages: When adjusted for inflation, 55.9% of members saw their pay decrease since 2023. The median raise has been only $3,250 (about 2% on an annualized basis).
• Raises are uneven: About one-third of employees who were in the unit in 2023 haven’t received a single raise in over two years.

“With the same diligence we use to track the wealth of the world’s most influential people, we analyzed pay and staffing data provided by Forbes management over the past four years,” said Andrea Murphy, unit chair for Forbes Union and a statistics editor for the magazine, in a statement. “The results show a newsroom that has grown smaller, less diverse, and no less inequitable under the leadership of CEO Sherry Phillips and Chief Content Officer Randall Lane.”

Read more here.

A Forbes spokeswoman provided the following statement: “The NewsGuild’s compensation study lacks relevant context, does not take into account important details like the scope of jobs in the newsroom, and neglected to account for critical data — failing to give the full picture of our newsroom or organization — further evidence of their unwillingness to engage in serious dialogue and productive bargaining.  Forbes representatives have come to every session ready to bargain in good faith and had hoped to have a CBA by the end of the year. Instead, they have been met with an unprepared, ill-informed and incomplete bargaining committee. The company looks forward to finally reaching an agreement.”