Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
BBC star Steph: I’m not posh so I get paid less..
Presenter’s ‘class divide’ anger
A lot of women doing a similar job to me are paid a lot more – they’re posher STEPH MCGOVERN BBC BREAKFAST BUSINESS EXPERT
BREAKFAST presenter Steph Mcgovern claims she has been paid less than posher BBC colleagues.
As the Beeb strives to close its gender pay gap, the business expert believes there is a class divide too – with well-spoken privately educated presenters earning more.
Working class Steph, from Middlesbrough, who was once told by a boss at the Corporation she was “too common” to be a presenter, said: “Throughout my career I’ve had to argue about it.
“There are a lot of women who do a similar job to me who are paid a hell of a lot more – who are a lot posher. It’s not as simple as a gender issue, it’s partly down to class.
“It’s dead important to represent loads of different cultures. But what the BBC doesn’t do enough of is thinking about getting people from more working-class backgrounds.”
Seven of nine female news presenters whose pay was revealed last year, and who earn more than Steph, went to private schools.
It is a similar story for those in charge, Steph said, adding: “A lot of people in management are from the same background. We’re asking ‘How do we represent more working-class people?’ when they aren’t working class, so how do they know?”
Steph, 35, has been given a huge pay rise as part of the on-going drive to close the gender pay gap by 2020, putting her on around £100,000.
She says all BBC presenters’ pay should be capped at £150,000 and wants more with regional accents.
She told how she once saw a map of Middlesbrough at a Radio 4 office with a line drawn across it marking a “no-go zone” for the crew reporting on anti-social behaviour there.
The former Tomorrow’s World host said: “I was like: ‘My mum and dad live in the middle of that.’”
A BBC spokesperson said: “More than 80% of the BBC’S workforce was educated in state schools and the BBC is more diverse than ever.
“We offer hundreds of apprenticeships to ensure the BBC is open to people from all backgrounds. But there is always more to do.”