BBC gender pay gap controversy

In July 2017, in response to a demand from the UK government as a condition of its new royal charter, the BBC published a list of all employees who earned more than £150,000.[1][2][lower-alpha 1] Of the 96 BBC employees making over this threshold, 62 were men and 34 were women, and of the seven highest earners, all were men.[1][3] The disclosure prompted criticism of the BBC over the gender pay gap; other critics also criticised a lack of ethnic diversity among the highest-earning BBC personalities.[2][3][4] Some commentators, however, argued that the mandatory disclosures were an effort by Theresa May's government to undermine the BBC.[5]

Early in January 2018, it was announced that Carrie Gracie, the BBC's China editor, had resigned from the role because of the salary gender disparity.[6] A pre-broadcast conversation between Today presenter John Humphrys and Jon Sopel, the BBC's North America editor, was leaked a few days later. Humphrys was recorded joking about the disparity. BBC management itself was said to be "deeply unimpressed" with Humphrys comments.[7] Because of the BBC's impartiality rules, Woman's Hour presenter Jane Garvey, a prominent advocate of equal pay at the BBC, was unable to conduct an interview with Gracie on the programme, while You and Yours presenter Winifred Robinson was briefly taken off-air for tweeting her support for Gracie.[8] More than a fortnight later, it was reported Conservative Culture minister Tracey Crouch, and other female MPs, have refused to be interviewed by Humphrys in response to his comments about Gracie's resignation.[9] Although reported by Anushka Asthana, co-political editor of The Guardian, and other media sources, Crouch has not commented about the issue.[9]

It became known on 26 January 2018 that some of the BBC's leading male presenters would take a pay cut. According to the BBC's media editor Amol Rajan, Huw Edwards, John Humphrys, Nick Robinson, Jon Sopel and Jeremy Vine, have agreed to a salary reduction. Nicky Campbell, radio 5 live presenter, also told his listeners that he would be taking a pay cut. An independent audit investigating equal pay at the BBC is due shortly.[10]