Equality in the media has been thrown into the spotlight by a series of scandals. Hannah Chapman reports

WHEN a list of the BBC’s highest-earning presenters was published by the corporation in July last year it sparked an immediate furore.

At first glance, the main issue was the huge amounts of tax-payers’ money being lavished on big names – top of the list was Chris Evans, who made between £2.2m and £2.25m in 2016-17.

But a fuller examination revealed a huge disparity between the figures paid to high profile male and female staff. All of the top seven earners were men, with the highest paid female celebrity, Claudia Winkleman getting between £450,000 and £500,000 – up to £1.8m less than Evans. The BBC defended the high salaries and pledged to close the gaps, but instead of an offer to raise women’s salaries, director of radio and education James Purnell said pay cuts for male stars could be in the offing.

This stance, unsurprisingly, brought some of the BBC’s most high-profile female personalities together to sign an open letter to director general Tony Hall urging him to “correct” the disparity over gender pay.

Weeks later, the BBC outlined three wide-ranging reviews into equal pay, with female presenters demanding “real change” before the end of 2017.

But as the months rolled on, little appeared to have changed, and on January 8, the BBC’s highly respected China editor, Carrie Gracie resigned.

In an open letter addressed to the “BBC audience”, she said she was dismayed to find the BBC’s two male international editors earned at least 50 per cent more than their two female counterparts. “The BBC belongs to you, the licence fee payer,” wrote Gracie. “I believe you have a right to know that it is breaking equality law and resisting pressure for a fair and transparent pay structure. In 30 years at the BBC, I have never sought to make myself the story. I am not asking for more money. I believe I am very well paid already, I simply want the BBC to abide by the law and value men and women equally.”

She later told MPs on the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee that the BBC must “report the truth” in this matter in order to lead the way for other businesses dealing with similar issues. Gracie said: “We, the BBC, will be reporting on it, obviously. But we’re supposed to be an example – and we are in the position because we are first up, in a way, with this huge row – and how we handle it is important. Not just in W1A, it’s important to, I think, workplaces, employers, employees, women, men across the country.”

She added: “We’re not in the business of producing toothpaste or tyres at the BBC. Our business is truth. We can’t operate without the truth. If we’re not prepared to look at ourselves honestly, how can we be trusted to look at anything else in reporting honestly?

“It can’t be a starting place to not deal with the facts.”

As this row played out in the UK, a scandal of a whole different type was emerging in Hollywood. On October 5, The New York Times published a story detailing decades of allegations of sexual harassment against female actors and employees by movie mogul Harvey Weinstein.

This story has a long way yet to run. Legal cases are pending and potential criminal charges being investigated. A #MeToo social media movement demonstrating the widespread nature of sexual assault and workplace harassment went viral, and in January, Hollywood celebrities launched the #Time’sUp campaign in response to the Weinstein allegations.

Two totally different issues, but both related to how women are valued by media employers. And with the international spotlight now upon the industry, the pressure is on to make positive changes.