The BBC has awarded pay rises to more than 700 female employees since the start of its equal pay scandal, as the broadcaster seeks to resolve the issue ahead of its first annual report under new director general Tim Davie.
According to a freedom of information request by former BBC employee Caroline Barlow, at least 84 women received pay increases through formal processes between July 2017 and March 2020. During the same period, 608 women had their pay revised or increased through an informal process launched after the scandal. The BBC noted that not all cases involved women being paid less than men, and an unknown number of men also received increases through the same procedure.
The most high-profile case saw Newswatch presenter Samira Ahmed win an employment tribunal for back pay after being paid substantially less than Jeremy Vine for presenting an equivalent programme. Internal emails made public during the hearings proved embarrassing for the BBC.
New deals over the summer have pushed the total number of equal pay settlements and pay revisions for women to over 700, with fewer than ten cases now outstanding. However, concerns remain that some women still earn less than the men they manage. The BBC also awaits the publication of an investigation by the Equality and Human Rights Commission into its historic pay practices.
The BBC has promoted progress in equalising pay for on-air stars earning over £150,000 a year. When these figures were first published in 2017, only a third of top-earning presenters were women. BBC sources say the new annual report will show that 45% of top earners are now women, aided by the reclassification of high-earning male actors as working for a commercial organisation. Match of the Day's Gary Lineker is expected to remain the highest earner.
The BBC has also indicated it will require presenters to declare external income, after scrutiny of activities such as North America editor Jon Sopel giving a talk to tobacco firm Philip Morris and BBC Breakfast host Naga Munchetty promoting NatWest and Aston Martin. The report is also expected to show a decline in TV licence fee payers and detail the impact of coronavirus on the BBC's commercial income.
