BBC flubs its lines on unequal wages

Broadcaster under fire for pay structures that favour its male presenters over their female counterparts

For many around the world, the reports from the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) delivered in various languages are often taken as unbiased and factual, a source of news with a historical perspective that added to the weight of credulity and British values of fair play. The reality though is that the wage scales and remuneration structures within the BBC show that fair play doesn’t extend to fair pay.

According to an unprecedented list of top-pay earners published by the BBC on Wednesday, there is a significant gap between the incomes paid to its top male and female presenters. The best-paid woman presenter on the global network is paid one-fifth of its best-paid male presenter. The data has been released for all of its employees earning more than £150,000 (Dh714,000) per annum and it makes for alarming reading — so much so that it now faces regulatory and legal action over the obvious discrepancy between male and female workers.

The pay scale scandal has not gone unnoticed by British Prime Minster Theresa May, who has accused the BBC of paying women less than men for doing the same work. As only the second woman to become prime minister in Britain, May noted that she wanted to see women paid equally to men. While there’re few who would disagree with May’s sentiment, it’s not necessarily black and white. Gary Lineker, a former England football star, is the second-highest paid presenter for his work on the highly popular Match of the Day. His experience puts him in a unique position, but Claudia Winkleman, who presents a ballroom dancing programme and the BBC’s top-paid female presenter, should earn the same.