RTÉ staff demand answers on ‘depressing’ gender pay gap

RTÉ broadcasters have demanded comprehensive details of its gender pay gap after claiming new figures paint a “depressing picture” and show a “glass ceiling persists”.

Members of the National Union of Journalists are writing to management seeking data on median earnings for male and female staff following a meeting yesterday.

It came after staff representatives said figures obtained in a Freedom of Information request showed a significant pay gap going “right up the scale”.

A message to members RTÉ education correspondent Emma O’Kelly wants data invited them to the meeting to discuss the latest pay data on International Women’s Day.

It said one in five women at RTÉ earns less than €40,000, compared to almost one in 10 men.

In addition, 63pc of women earn less than €60,000 compared to 46pc of men, according to the figures released, which date from 2019.

Of those earning between €100,000 and €150,000 a year, it said 68pc are male and 32pc are females.

“This reflects the fact that management positions in RTÉ continue to be male dominated and that the problem of a ‘glass ceiling’ persists,” it said.

Of those earning between €60,000 and €80,000, it said 63pc are male and 37pc female.

The message said that more than three years ago, RTÉ commissioned a report by mediator Kieran Mulvey on the gender pay gap, following the revelation of data in 2016.

“The 2019 data shows that little has changed,” it said.

“It’s a depressing picture. While the position of women improved in some pay brackets, in others it remains the same or has got worse.”

Chair of the Dublin broadcasting branch and education correspondent Emma O’Kelly said staff want more comprehensive data.

“We’ve only got the most basic of data, and that clearly shows us there’s a gender disparity,” she said. “We want more data to include the median broken down on gender lines.”

Oonagh Smyth of the Trade Union Group’s equality group said at board level there had been some improvement since 2016, but not among operational management.

“You can’t achieve true gender equality without having gender equality at key decision-making level,” she said.

“We want a more proactive approach on this issue by management and key recommendations in the Mulvey report implemented.”

Meanwhile, the meeting was told that a ballot of NUJ members on cost-cutting measures including wage reductions will begin on March 18.