BBC gender pay gap in retreat as male presenters’ salaries are cut

THE BBC has cut its gender pay gap by nearly one-fifth after a year spent reducing the salaries of its highest-paid male presenters.

The gap had narrowed from 9.3 per cent to 7.6 per cent, the corporation said, thanks to initiatives that included “repositioning people within their pay ranges”.

Huw Edwards, Nicky Campbell, John Humphrys, Jon Sopel, Nick Robinson and Jeremy Vine have all ac- cepted substantial pay cuts to their six-figure salaries, while a number of the BBC’S women presenters received pay rises.

The BBC said it still had a lack of women in senior leadership roles, accounting for much of the remaining pay disparity.

“Closing the gender pay gap is a priority for the BBC. We must lead the way. Today’s figures show we are making good progress, but we are not there yet and that is why we will keep pressing to deliver change,” said Lord Hall of Birkenhead, the director-general. He added that the problem “has gone on for too long” and set a target to close the gap by 2020. Alongside the figures, the BBC published the findings of an internal report into career progression for women and gender equality within the corporation.

It found “a perceived gender bias in recruitment processes”, with women feeling penalised for taking time off to have children. Furthermore, in each of the past five years, more women have left the BBC than men, citing “better career opportunities elsewhere”.

The report, led by Donalda Mackinnon, head of BBC Scotland, recommended that job adverts should be written in “gender neutral language” and that the most senior positions should have a gender balanced shortlist for final interviews.

Research carried out by the University of Winnipeg found that women were put off applying for jobs in which the advertisements used words associated with male stereotypes, such as “leader”, “competitive” and “dominant”.

Other recommendations include developing “high-potential programmes” for women looking to progress to leadership roles. The action plan was “not cost neutral” but was required for a change of culture within the BBC, the report concluded.

Mrs Mackinnon said: “This is about much more than any single individual. It’s about a step-change in culture for gender equality.”