FOCUS ON DIVERSIT Y CLOSING THE GENDER PAY GAP When the salaries of BBC stars were published in July, the gender pay gap that was exposed caused a national outrage. It was revealed that only 35% of those earning more than £150,000 a year were women and that female hosts were earning considerably less than their male co-hosts. A report into BBC pay found that men working for the corporation earn an average of 9.3% more than women. The figure covers all staff, on and off air, and has been put down to the fact that there are more men in senior jobs. It compares with a UK average gender pay gap of 18%. While the BBC director general Tony Hall said the report showed the corporation was "in a better place than many organisations," he has pledged to close the pay gap by 2020 and said the corporation should be "an exemplar of what can be achieved when it comes to pay, fairness, gender and representation". The government has ordered all charities, private and public sector employers with 250 or more staff to publish their gender pay details by April 2018 in a bid to encourage the elimination of the gender pay gap through greater transparency. J O B S & C A R E E R S /// 4 7 46 J&C CJ17 Diversity & Inclusion jw2.indd 47 18/11/2017 22:31