Sinéad should be listened to, insists ex-TV3 host Aisling
TV3 host Sinéad Desmond, who has quit Ireland AM over a gender pay gap dispute, should be listened to, a fellow broadcaster has said.
Ms Desmond. 43, left her job after a row with station bosses over the pay gap between herself and her male co-presenters, Alan Hughes and Mark Cagney.
Her co-hosts for TV3’s flagship weekday morning show earn considerably more than her, the Irish Mail on Sunday revealed.
Now former Xposé presenter Aisling O’Loughlin has waded in to defend Ms Desmond, saying that it’s ‘very important that we listen to what she is saying’.
‘Sinéad is an excellent journalist with an excellent CV, and you would wonder why on earth she’s not being paid the same as the people who are doing the exact same job,’ Ms O’Loughlin exclusively told the Irish Daily Mail.
‘It’s questionable. They could say there are other reasons at play, but I’m not sure if that’s valid because, ultimately, when it comes down to it, it’s the same job.’
Ms O’Loughlin, who recently set up fashion and lifestyle website Exquisite. ie, emphasised the importance of listening to Ms Desmond.
‘I think especially at this time, when women are finally finding their voices to say collectively that we’re not happy with the system and we want some fairness, I think it is very important that we listen to what she is saying,’ she said. ‘Sinéad was never one to rock the boat unnecessarily.
‘I think sometimes you must take a stand because it’s important and because your heart is behind it... And I think her argument is relevant.’
Ms Desmond confirmed she was not speaking publicly about the matter for the moment, but thanked fans for their support via Twitter. In recent weeks, she has been replaced by Ciara Doherty on Ireland AM.
‘When it comes down to it, it’s the same job’
EVEN those who don’t count themselves as fans of Ireland AM can hardly argue with the viewership figures.
It is, by any reckoning, one of the jewels in TV3’s broadcasting crown.
Sinéad Desmond has been a key factor in Ireland AM’s success for more than a decade. Whereas there are others working in the format who have neither, she combines personal warmth with journalistic nous. At the very least, Ms Desmond has brought as much to the programme as fellow presenters Mark Cagney and Alan Hughes.
Yet now she has left the station following a row with management over a salary gap with her colleagues. We don’t know what the figures involved are, but given that she was prepared to tender her resignation, it is safe to assume that the pay disparity wasn’t on the nominal side of things.
Credit is due to Ms Desmond for adopting this principled position. But it is not a stand she should have been forced to take. The plain fact of the matter is that the differentials in gender pay levels are no longer acceptable. Nor, accordingly, is the attitude of employers who tell women that they can either like it or lump it.