Emily calls on male BBC stars to publicly back pay gap fight
EMILY Maitlis yesterday urged male colleagues to join the gender pay gap fight – as women staff at the Corporation went into open revolt.
More than 40 well-known female presenters have already written to BBC boss Lord Hall demanding he put men and women on equal levels of pay immediately.
But by yesterday, the rebellion had spread further – with dozens more employees protesting on social media.
Newsnight presenter Miss Maitlis said that although female BBC stars had received encouraging messages from the men they worked with, it was time for them to speak up publicly.
On Twitter, she added: ‘They are all kindly and supportively messaging us in private. #nowgopublic.’
The BBC was forced to admit last week that just a third of its highest-paid stars were women, and that it paid seven male stars more than its biggest earning female presenter, Claudia Winkleman, who is on up to £500,000.
Newsreader and Antiques Roadshow host Fiona Bruce, news presenter Victoria Derbyshire, Newsnight host Kirsty Wark, sports presenter Clare Balding, and One Show host Alex Jones all signed the open letter, which was organised by Woman’s Hour host Jane Garvey.
Lord Hall insisted yesterday that the BBC had made a bigger commitment to closing the gender pay gap than other organisations.
He said he had made it a ‘personal priority’ to fix the gap since 2013, adding: ‘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. Over the next three years I want the BBC to be regarded as an exemplar on gender and diversity.’
But by taking advantage of a loophole, the BBC will keep many of its star salaries a secret from next April. It will move them on to the books of its commercial arm, BBC Worldwide, and its production arm, BBC Studios, which do not have to disclose what they pay for top talent.
Political correspondent Vicki Young tweeted: ‘So angry and depressed. Feels like we have been duped. Yes, it’s a very subjective industry. But surely men can’t always be “better”?’
Miss Balding mocked a pledge by Lord Hall to fix the pay gap by 2020. ‘1970: Equal Pay Act. 2010: Equality Act. 2020: BBC target. We’re standing together to suggest they can do better,’ she said.
She earns up to £200,000 – a ninth of the £1.8million handed to Match of the Day host Gary Lineker.
One male reporter who put his head above the parapet, South America correspondent Wyre Davies, tweeted: ‘I fully back calls for senior female colleagues to be paid the same as male counterparts.’
The row blew up last week after the BBC was forced to publish salary details for the 96 stars who earn more than £150,000, the pay of PM Theresa May.
People were aghast at the sums for its top earners, with Radio 2 host Chris Evans taking £2.25million. But the biggest shock was the gulf between the pay of male and female presenters, and the absence of some prominent women.
Miss Maitlis and Today presenter Sarah Montague were not on the rich list because they do not make £150,000 – even though male co-hosts were among of the BBC’s best-paid talents, with Today veteran John Humphrys bringing in up to £650,000.