Monday, July 24, 2017

Letter from Henley to women

"Thank you for your letter.

I understand and respect why this is so important to you. Like you, I recognise just how crucial this issue is for us at the BBC and for society as a whole. It is why I have made it a personal priority over the last four years as I want the BBC at the forefront of change.

As I said this week we have taken some significant steps forward but we do need to go further and faster. I hope the change of recent years is proof of my personal commitment to making this happen. 

When I came back to the BBC I said that we needed to move from having only 14 percent of women on local radio breakfast shows to 50 per cent. We achieved that in two years. I also said we needed to have a 50/50 split on all presenting and lead roles by 2020. You only have to look at our drama and entertainment programmes to see what can be achieved.

But we need to do more to close the gender pay gap. Across the BBC, our provisional figures show that the pay gap is 10% against a national average of over 18 percent. I have committed the BBC to closing the gap by 2020 and if we can get there earlier then we will.

We are not however making a standing start. Work is already well underway across the organisation to help achieve this. There will be wider consultation meetings over the next two months so we can accelerate further change in the Autumn. I would obviously value your contribution and thinking as part of this process.

When figures are published next year I am confident they will look very different. When other organisations publish their gender pay data by next April, I want the BBC to be one of the best performers when comparisons are made. But beyond that over the next three years I want the BBC to be regarded as an exemplar on gender and diversity.

Best wishes,

Tony Hall, BBC Director-General"

No comments:

Post a Comment

Other people who read this.......