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BBC boss vows to improve on gender pay gap

BBC boss responds to a letter from female presenters demanding the broadcaster act now on gender disparity.


The director general of the BBC, Tony Hall, has responded to a letter from the a group of female stars who called on the broadcaster to address a gender pay gap, following the publication of key talent salaries last week.

The group of female presenters including Clare Balding, Victoria Derbyshire, Emily Maitlis and Fiona Bruce wrote, “You have said that you will ‘sort’ the gender pay gap by 2020, but the BBC has known about the pay disparity for years. We all want to go on the record to call upon you to act now.”

Hall responded with his own letter, acknowledging that the organisation must do more to fix the problem.

Fixing the problem has been a “personal priority” and he hopes to step up his aim of closing the gap even earlier than a 2020 target.

“We are not however making a standing start. Work is already well under way across the organisation to help achieve this,” he wrote.

“There will be wider consultation meetings over the next two months so we can accelerate further change in the autumn. I would obviously value your contribution and thinking as part of this process.

“When figures are published next year I am confident they will look very different.

“When other organisations publish their gender pay data by next April, I want the BBC to be one of the best performers when comparisons are made.

“But beyond that over the next three years I want the BBC to be regarded as an exemplar on gender and diversity.”

Source: Evening Standard, Variety

5 Responses

  1. I’m perfectly comfortable with women being paid the same as men for the same work as long as they don’t wear the same colour clothing as each other.

  2. Pulling power is really all that should determine pay rates in the field of presenters since they really have no geniune talent to reward. So, do the male presenters pull more audience than the female ones? If so, pay them more. If not, there’s a case to be answered. In today’s P.C. world I bet that this aspect of broadcast television won’t get a look in, it’ll be nothing more than a shrill ‘pay us all the same amount’ chorus.

    1. I’m inclined to agree with the basic premise that, for presenters, ‘pulling power’ should be a large criteria for pay – but it sort of ignores the kind of real-world biases that are completely out of the hands of individuals.

      Should a female presenter doing exactly the same work, showing exactly the same level of skill, in exactly the same job, be penalised simply because there are thousands or millions of [expletive elided’s] out there who will get their hate on and refuse to watch simply because a woman is presenting?

      1. Some presenters are engaging, others are not. Your premise that thousands/millions get their hate on because a female is presenting is at best misguided and at worst somewhat delusional….

        1. Well, yes – if you ignore all the foaming-mouthed hate that thousands/millions spray towards any woman who dares do a “man’s job” presenting…

          (The … ahem, ‘storm’ … of hate directed at Rebecca Maddern when she joined Nine’s AFL Footy Show, anyone? Erin Molan on the NRL version? The continuous stream of social media hate any number of female presenters have spoken publicly about any number of times?

          900 chars ain’t enough…)

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