Gender Pay Gap in BBC

Dispute Resolution - 1 minute read

More information on pay disparity between the sexes will come to the fore next April when businesses are required to publish certain information.   Every business with 250 employees or more will face scrutiny about the differences in pay and will have to grapple with how to explain any discrepancies. 

The disclosure of these figures which I understand was heavily resisted, is embarrassing for the BBC especially when their recent diversity agenda and action plan received such acclaim.

It shows that such biases are alive and in operation and that organisations will really have to double their efforts if they want to engage with the issues to create true pay equality and protect their reputations.   This means more than having an equality and diversity policy; other initiatives and unconscious bias training are probably required.

Research indicates that once such information is published, prospective applicants will use it to make choices about future employers so if attracting and retaining the best talent is important, the numbers need to add up.

BBC may face difficulties over the apparent gender pay gap shown by the list. Radio presenter Chris Evans made between £2.2m and £2.25m in 2016/2017, while Claudia Winkleman was the highest-paid female celebrity, earning between £450,000 and £500,000.

Overall, 25 men on the talent list receive more than £250,000, compared to just nine women.

...the figures expose a 'deeply troubling disparity in pay between men and women at one of the UK’s most prominent publicly funded institutions’.

'We anticipate a number of high profile female employees will now be examining the figures and demanding an explanation as to why they are being paid less than their male colleagues.

'If the justification isn’t satisfactory, equal pay claims may be taken which would not only be costly but incredibly damaging to the standing and reputation of the BBC.'