30 JANUARY 2018

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The BBC today published an on-air review which has concluded that there is no evidence of unlawful gender bias regarding pay decisions at the corporation. This comes in the wake of former China Editor Carrie Gracie's resignation over unequal pay, and numerous reports of female reporters being pulled from broadcasts related to unequal pay.

Fawcett Chief Executive Sam Smethers says: 

“This report leaves many questions still unanswered. It is not a full equal pay audit and does not provide full transparency. We cannot see how the BBC can conclude that there is “no gender bias” in the face of shocking stories from individual women, and what looks like large pay differences within jobs that the report does not explain.

“We state again that the BBC needs to address any unequal pay within the organisation and must do it now. This means addressing historical pay inequality, making good pension contributions and levelling women up before any new pay system is introduced. Whatever they put in place going forward they must also right the wrongs of the past.”

Sam Smethers today published an open letter to Tony Hall, the Director-General of the BBC, urging him to any pay inequality that exists at the corporation as a matter of urgency.

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Read Fawcett's comment on the BBC's announcement that it will carry out sweeping pay reviews here. You can see our comment on the BBC gender pay gap here, and our comment following news of Carrie Gracie's resignation as China Editor here.

Fawcett's campaigning led to new gender pay gap reporting legislation, which requires organisations with over 250 employees to publish data on their gender pay gaps, including bonuses, by April 2018. 

READ MORE ABOUT OUR WORK ON CLOSING THE GENDER PAY GAP HERE.

If you believe in the work we do, support our work by becoming a Fawcett member today.