Penalising one gender for another is not equality

After a day that contained more farce than an episode of W1A, the BBC finally confirmed that six of its male presenters were to take a pay cut as a result of the ongoing furore over gender pay inequality.

“These are great journalists and presenters who have a real connection with the audience,” said the corporation in a statement. “We are proud to have them working at the BBC.”

I think it’s lovely that Jeremy Vine, John Humphrys et al have agreed to be paid partly in pride, but I can’t help thinking that a better way round this would simply to have been to raise the salaries of their female colleagues.

This is a lily-livered attempt to capitulate to those who would like to see the BBC wither and die. Equality is not about penalising one gender for the benefit of another. One would hope that a corporation that believes in fairness would know that better than others.

Payback: John Humphrys is among six men who have agreed to a pay cut