BBC apologises to Carrie Gracie, over unequal pay

The BBC apologised on Friday to a senior female journalist who quit as the broadcaster’s China editor this year over unequal pay and said it would give her backdated wages for the years in which she was underpaid.

The journalist, Carrie Gracie, resigned from the role in January and moved back to the BBC’s London newsroom, publicly criticising the broadcaster for its pay disparities between male and female staff members. She said she had been promised pay equal to that of one of her male counterparts, but a public review of BBC salaries made clear she earned less.

Hers was among several high-profile disputes that have emerged since the BBC revealed the salary bands of its highest-paid employees, an exercise that revealed big disparities between the wages of senior men and women. The review came amid a reckoning in Britain over gender pay gaps more broadly. A government requirement that large companies publish their official wage disparities has shown the vast majority of companies pay men more than women.

In a joint statement on Friday, the BBC and Ms Gracie said they had agreed to “resolve their differences.” The broadcaster acknowledged that it had underpaid her, apologized and said it would provide her with backdated pay.

Ms Gracie donated the sum to the Fawcett Society, a British women’s rights charity, to set up a fund to offer legal advice to women on equal-pay claims.

Thank you so much to everyone who has supported me on this long hard road. I'm home. https://t.co/iY2AIaGPqP

— Carrie Gracie (@BBCCarrie) June 29, 2018

The dispute between the BBC and Ms Gracie, a longtime journalist with the broadcaster, stems from her time as China editor. When she took the role in 2013, she was told that she would be paid in line with the BBC’s North America editor, Jon Sopel. But data published by the broadcaster last summer showed they were paid significantly different amounts.

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For the year that ended in March 2017, Mr Sopel was paid between £200,000 and £249,999. Ms Gracie made less than the £150,000 threshold required to make her salary public and later said her salary was £135,000, or about $178,000.

Her resignation from the post of China editor drew attention to the pay gaps.

Several BBC journalists spoke out in her favour, the salaries of some of the broadcaster’s most prominent male journalists were cut, and at a parliamentary hearing on the matter, one lawmaker described the situation as a “horror show.”

I admire Carrie Gracie so much for her principled stand and applaud the dignity with which she has handled this situation. To donate all of the agreed backpay confirms what we already knew – she is not fighting the fight for herself but for ALL #equalpay https://t.co/Pzu2ips8jn

— Clare Balding (@clarebalding) June 29, 2018

“Today, at the BBC, I can say I am equal,” Ms Gracie, reading prepared remarks, said on Friday.

“I would like women at workplaces up and down the country to say the same,” she added.

Ms Gracie will now take six months of unpaid leave to focus on China and gender equality.

“When my case became news, women wrote to me from all over the country to recount horror stories about unequal pay and the difficulties they faced in trying to put it right,” Ms Gracie said. “My own experience has taught me how lonely and challenging this can be.”

Other journalists applauded her on having raised awareness and recognition for the issue.*

Carrie Gracie donating her backdated BBC pay to @fawcettsociety to help other women in their fight ?Good reminder that this isn't about women greedily wanting MORE money – simply about being paid equally @BBCCarrie #equalpay

— Claire Cohen (@clairecohen) June 29, 2018