Asian BBC stars revolt over pay gap

THE BBC must do more to bridge the pay gap between ethnic minorities and white employees, according to journalists and presenters at the corporation, with some pointing out that the organisation had a “tick box” approach to increasing diversity in its programming and elsewhere.

A week after the BBC revealed how many of its staff were paid more than £150,000, a former senior employee slammed the broadcaster, saying “racial diversity has taken a back seat since Greg Dyke left [the organisation]”. Of the 96 highest-paid stars at the BBC, only 10 are from a minority background.

Among them is Sri Lanka-born presenter George Alagiah, who is 25th on the list with earnings of £250,000-£299,999. Radio 4’s Today presenter Mishal Husain, who is of Pakistani origin, earns £200,000-£249,999 and is 47th on the list.

BBC Radio 5 Live’s presenter Nihal Arthanayake, who has been with the organisation since 2002, told Eastern Eye on Monday (24) that he was “disappointed to see a lack of ethnic minorities” in the list.

“The pay gap is an issue which the BBC has admitted needs rectifying,” Nihal said.

An Asian journalist, who did not wish to be identified, told Eastern Eye: “When they say diversity, I don’t think they know or truly mean it. They say: ‘Oh, if we get so-and-so to be on the front of that, then we’ve got the diversity box ticked.”

The journalist added: “I hope this isn’t a conversation that dies down. It would be a shame, especially for minorities, because we want to have our

point of view heard.” While praising the broadcaster for its news

coverage, the journalist nevertheless criticised it for being like an “old boys club – opportunities are given and rules are bent to progress the careers

of a certain mould of people; white, male and from Oxbridge”.

Commenting on the pay gap, the former senior BBC employee alleged that ethnic minorities in the organisation were “not being looked after”.

“I have great admiration for (BBC directorgeneral) Tony Hall but when he’s looking at gender pay, he also needs to look at ethnic minorities as well. He has to do it all and he has to do it now,” the ex-employee said.

“The most important thing is that they need to get a grip on racial diversity in the BBC because it’s just appalling. What the BBC have singularly failed to understand though is that when it comes to racial diversity, only 10 [of the BBC’s top paid stars] are in the top 100. That tells me that we’re not valued at all.

“Why is it that George Alagiah isn’t being paid as much as Hugh Edwards for doing the same job? Why is Mishal Husain, who fronts one of the most influential radio programme in the UK, languishes where she does?”

Ritula Shah, presenter of The World Tonight on BBC Radio 4, told Eastern Eye that she “[regards] working for the BBC as a huge privilege”.

However, she confirmed that her thoughts surrounding the issue were summarised in the open letter written last weekend by 40 female BBC personalities over the gender pay gap. In it, they said many have “suspected [the pay gap] foryears” and that BBC employees “would be willing to meet [Hall] to discuss ways in which [he] can correct this disparity so that future generations of women do not face this kind of discrimination.”

Among those who signed the open letter were Shah, Husain, Anita Anard and Samira Ahmed.

Reposting the hashtag #BBCWomen on Twitter, stars such as Mishal Husain have brought much attention to the issue by demanding that change needs to happen now.

Others, however, have raised concerns that inequality within minorities is not being addressed enough. Channel 4 journalist Darshna Soni tweeted: “Lots of comment about #BBCpay and the #GenderPayGap. Far less about the difference between what White stars and Black/ Asian stars are paid (sic).”

This is the first time that the BBC has had to publicly reveal the salaries of stars who earn more than £150,000.

In response to the open letter, Lord Hall said: “Over the next three years I want the BBC to be regarded as an exemplar on gender and diversity.”

In 2014, Lord Hall announced that one in seven BBC presenters would be of an ethnic minority within the next three years.

Nihal spoke of his love for the BBC and said he was grateful for the opportunities he had. However, “it has also frustrated me at times as any

employer would,” he added.

The popular presenter has been with the broadcaster for 15 years, working at Radio 1, 1Xtra, BBC Asian Network and now BBC5Live. He is on the independent diversity action plan board that hopes to increase diversity across the corporation’s programmes.

“I have gained shows and had shows taken away from me. The BBC has been good to me and I have brought something unique to the BBC,” he

told Eastern Eye.

“At every juncture I have thought about my future, and alongside my agent, tried to orchestrate where I wanted to be. I prefer to focus on getting to where I want to get to rather than complaining about where I am not. I find that is more positive and less poisonous. I’ve seen bitterness eat up people. I want to try and avoid being that guy.”

The journalist who wished to remain anonymous added: “I’m just glad that this conversation has started. This speaks to our whole society. By April next year, everyone will have to reveal their gender pay discrepancies and I would be very surprised if the BBC is the only one that has this issue when it comes to diversity. If the BBC can’t get it right, then who can?

“It would be a shame if this conversation stopped... we have access and insight that I don’t think necessarily all those who are of white privilege

have. Those are skills that need to be invested in and valued. This conversation is not about tripling anyone’s salary.”

Lord Hall added: “We have taken some significant steps forward but we do need to go further and faster. I have committed the BBC to closing the gap by 2020 and if we can get there earlier, we will.”

On the representation of ethnic minorities in the BBC, he said in a speech last Wednesday (19): “I want to achieve right balance when it comes to

BAME talent too. Here, we have a similarly tough target – 15 per cent by 2020. And, again that’s having an impact, with nearly 20 per cent of the leading talent we’ve hired or promoted in the last few years from BAME backgrounds.”

Labour MP and shadow minister for diverse communities Dawn Butler said the pay gap between white and minority ethnic staff was “shocking”.

She told Eastern Eye on Tuesday (25) “the public must have faith that the BBC pays all its colleagues fairly and on merit, yet the pay list sends a bad message with the majority of the BBC’s highest paid employees being both white and male.”

Recent statistics released by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) following a survey of job applications showed that candidates who had a distinct ethnic minority name suffered bias.

According to the latest labour market statistics, 10 per cent of ethnic minority individuals are unemployed compared to five per cent of the

overall population.

Farah Elani from the Runnymede Trust told Eastern Eye “the data from the BBC is disappointing.”

“It is a structural issue that starts with employment. We need targeted interventions that will result in a better outcome,” she said.