The key findings of the RwC audit
• Report finds no “evidence of gender bias in pay decision-making”.
• BBC says findings will result in “substantial pay cuts” for some men.
• Some male and female presenters will get pay rises.
• Pay gap among 824 staff was 6.8%. The national average is 18%
• 12.6% pay gap among the 656 lower-profile broadcast journalists.
• “Slightly higher percentage’ of men among top half of earners.
An audit on pay and diversity of presenters, correspondents and on-air talent at the BBC has found “no evidence of gender bias in pay decision-making”.
However, it identified a number of issues in relation to pay “which have resulted in anomalies” that auditors said need addressing.
These included:
Too many pay decisions being made at local levels because of the absence of clear pay frameworks.
A lack of clarity and openness about the basis for pay decisions because of the absence of pay ranges for on-air roles.
A slower rate of pay progression for both men and women over the past decade because of a period of significant pay restraint.
The BBC said the findings would mean “substantial pay cuts” for some men and increases for “some male and female presenters”.
The PwC report said the BBC’s decisions on pay lacked “clarity and openness”.
In its review of pay for 824 on-air BBC journalists, PwC noted there was a “slightly higher percentage” of men among the top half of pay, but that a 12.6% pay gap existed among the 656 lower-profile broadcast journalists in the group.
“We have found that the BBC has a set of pay arrangements for this group which lack a consistent evaluation and governance framework,” its findings read.
“This is not uncommon for a highly skilled and diverse group of this type, but it falls below the high standards that the BBC sets for itself and which the licence fee paying public expect.”
The report also notes women are “significantly underrepresented” in some roles such as correspondents, where the pay gap is 7.5%.
The BBC admitted the range of salaries of the higher profile 168 journalists is “much too wide”: “The pay at the top is too high; and, at the very top of the range, there are more men than women,” the corporation said.
BBC pledges ‘narrower pay bands; much simpler contracts and allowances; and clear criteria for how pay reflects skills, experience and audience impact’ in bid to close gender pay gap by 2020.
The RwC report made a number of recommendations including establishing a clear pay framework, narrower pay ranges, simpler contracts and allowances and improved transparency.
The BBC, in response, has said it “wants a fair, equal and transparent pay framework for the future, so we will now consult our presenters on this to help ensure we get it right.”
The corporation has set out a five-point plan to help create “fairer and more equal conditions”, including substantial pay cuts for some men and increases for some male and female presenters.
The broadcaster said it has addressed close to half of the 230 cases “raised by of pay unfairness and equality by women and men – on and off air. We aim to conclude the rest by the summer.”
Director-General Tony Hall said today: “The BBC believes in equality. No one should be paid differently because of their gender. The BBC has a special role representing Britain. That is why we need to be and want to be an exemplar on gender pay, and equal pay.
“Today’s report does not find evidence of gender bias in decision-making, but it shows that we have real and important issues to tackle, particularly in some areas of news and current affairs, and I’m determined to get it right. The plans we’re setting out today go further and are more important steps in modernising the BBC and making it fairer.
“We’ve already made an important start. We’re addressing unfairness in individuals’ pay and want to close the gender pay gap and have women in half of our on-air roles by 2020. Those are big, bold commitments I’m really serious about.
“We are clear we’re going to tackle this and change for the better, and I hope other organisations take the same approach. The BBC can and must lead the way. I am determined that we will.”
PwC’s recommendations are: proposing a grading structure for the on-air group; using narrow pay ranges; addressing outliers both above and below the pay ranges; publishing pay ranges; reviewing the current approach to contracting; simplifying allowances; creating an on-air talent team to help manage the governance for this population; conducting regular reviews; reporting regularly; and continuing to improve diverse representation.
In a statement on Tuesday the BBC pointed it that, in October it published an equal pay audit of around 18,000 staff which concluded there was no systemic discrimination against women at the BBC. Additionally, it also published “our audited gender pay gap report”, which shows the gender pay gap is 9.3% against a national average of 18.1%.
“At the same time we set out a range of actions we were taking including access for staff to specialist advice if people have questions about pay, ensuring managers review pay in their team every six months to ensure fairness, and ending single-sex panels for job interviews, as well as striving for diverse shortlists for jobs,” the corporation said.
The findings by auditors PwC were released on Tuesday as evidence submitted to the Digital, Culture and Sport Committee by 170 BBC women, claiming a “longstanding breach of trust, transparency and accountability”, were released, and as the corporation proposed a £320,000 cap on its news presenters’ salaries.
“BBC Women are very concerned that this publicly funded body is perpetuating a longstanding breach of its stated values of trust, transparency and accountability,” the evidence reads.
“We believe the BBC must put these matters right by admitting the problem, apologising and setting in place an equal, fair and transparent pay structure.”
The audit findings also come as Lord Hall is set to be questioned by MPs over the broadcaster’s pay culture on Tuesday which has raged since last summer when the corporation published its salaries for on-air staff earning more than £150,000.
BBC journalist Carrie Gracie, who resigned in protest over the pay gap, is also due to give evidence to the committee tomorrow.
Reaction to the report has so-far been limited, however, Labour MP Stella Creasy concluded the findings did not “bode well at all” for other organisations tackling the issue.
The BBC today pledged:
Substantial pay cuts for some men and increases for some male and female presenters – prominent men in BBC News have already accepted pay cuts. We have already addressed close to half of the 230 cases raised of pay unfairness and equality by women and men – on and off air. We aim to conclude the rest by the summer.
A new on-air framework for determining the pay of people on air – an equal, fair and transparent structure for the future. We will have narrower pay bands because they have become too wide; cut the number of contracts and allowances to be simpler and fairer; and have clear criteria for how pay reflects skills, experience and audience impact. We will fully consult on this to make sure we get it right.
Greater pay transparency – we aim to be the most transparent organisation when it comes to pay. When our reforms are complete, everyone will be able to see the pay range for virtually every job in the BBC. Where there are more than 20 people in a job, staff will also be able to see where everyone else is positioned. We will do more to explain the pay of each presenter paid over £150,000, especially where they do more than one role.
Review of career progression and working practices for women – we will look at what more we can do to make the BBC a better place for women to work. We already, for example, allow and encourage job shares and other flexible forms of working. We will review what we do to ensure we have the best in class processes and opportunities. We want to help more women progress more quickly at the BBC.
We will also accelerate our work to achieve 50:50 representation across the BBC by 2020. Through the year we will continue to make changes to our on-air line-ups at a faster rate.