Female news broadcasters of the BBC want the organization to update its pay standards and policies immediately versus in 2020. The call comes after the broadcast organization was required by the UK government to publish the salary details of employees paid more than 150,000 pounds per year. The BBC is a publicly funded organization with each person contributing an average of 147 pounds per year. The resulting report showed tremendous disparity for women and minorities as compared to their white, male counterparts both in numbers of hires, and in pay.
Female broadcasters including Clare Balding, Victoria Derbyshire and a total of 42 individuals sent a statement to BBC management demanding an expedited solution of the pay gap, referencing the Equal Pay Act of 1970. The letter also addressed the plans by the organization to solve the gap by 2020, stating it must instead be accelerated and solved.
Prime Minister Teresa May as well as Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbin both called out the gap as unacceptable. Though Tony Hall, BBC’s director general claimed the BBC was actually far better in comparison than other networks. He also said there was in fact room for correction and more needed to be done.
