A NUMBER OF the BBC’s most recognisable female broadcasters have signed an open letter to Director General Tony Hall urging him to deal with pay gap that was exposed when the BBC published the salaries of employees earning over £150,000 last week,
Stars like Clare Balding, Sue Barker, Victoria Derbyshire, Gabby Logan, Emily Maitlis, Kirsty Wark, Fiona Bruce and Alex Jones were among the signatories.
In the letter, they allege that women in the organisation are being “paid less than men for the same work”. They acknowledge that they are “well compensated” for their work, but insist they are fighting on behalf of lower paid and less visible employees.
Compared to many women and men, we are very well compensated and fortunate. However, this is an age of equality and the BBC is an organisation that prides itself on its values.
Beyond the list, there are so many other areas including production, engineering and support services and global, regional and local media where a pay gap has languished for too long. This is an opportunity for those of us with strong and loud voices to use them on behalf of all, and for an organisation that had to be pushed into transparency to do the right thing.
This morning, the hashtag #bbcwomen has taken off with many of the letter’s supporters tweeting it out and demanding equal pay.
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Clare Balding, one of the most recognisable faces at the BBC, tweeted that they were “politely” suggesting that the broadcaster could do better.
Many have applauded the women for coming together and taking a bold stand against their employers.
While others have questioned why their male colleagues haven’t publicly supported them. (Newsnight’s Emily Maitlis tweeted that many were sending messages of support in private, but called upon them to “go public”.)
Jeremy Corbyn has even pledged to support them.
G’wan the gals.
