‘Don’t be straight, white or male!’ BBC pays senior managers from diverse backgrounds more money
The BBC pays senior managers from diverse backgrounds more than their counterparts, according to recent revelations.
Staff in top positions at the national broadcaster receive higher salaries if they are from LGBT+ or ethnic minority backgrounds.
It comes as BBC chairman Samir Shah has recently suggested that wealthier households should pay more for the BBC, questioning the current flat licence fee system.
The revelation about higher pay for diverse senior managers comes as the BBC faces financial challenges.
Licence fee revenues have plummeted, with the number of households paying the £169-a-year levy falling by half a million to 23.9 million in the year to April 2024.
This payment disparity has been uncovered at a time when BBC executives are being forced to consider alternative funding models.
The corporation has ramped up enforcement of the licence fee, sending 41 million letters to British households between 2023 and 2024 urging them to pay, a year-on-year increase of almost 13 percent.
In his first interview since becoming chairman last year, Shah told The Sunday Times: “Why should people who are poor pay the same as people in wealthy households?”
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While stopping short of fully endorsing a household levy, Shah pointed to its benefits, claiming it “gets rid of the enforcement issue” which has become “a problem”.
The household levy could potentially be collected with council tax. Shah’s views appear to echo those of former BBC chairman Richard Sharp, who previously told The Telegraph that the current system of a flat licence fee is “regressive”.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy was reported in September to be considering funding the BBC via general taxation.
Shah also addressed diversity at the BBC, saying the corporation “needs to do a lot more to ensure our staff reflects the country as a whole…We need more variety and diversity – more diversity of thought.”
He specifically highlighted a deficiency in northern working-class representation, stating: “It’s on, frankly, the northern working class where we’re poor. That’s where the focus should be.”
Shah reflected on claims of liberal bias, noting: “The media recruits graduates from the arts, humanities, and they tend to be metropolitan and to have a point of view you could describe as Liberal Centre, Centre Left.”
Shah expressed concern about the “procession of men” facing allegations during his first year, including former newsreader Huw Edwards and Russell Brand.
“The theme that keeps coming through is that junior staff are vulnerable to being preyed on by people with power. We have to stop it,” he said.
He was adamant about protecting vulnerable staff members: “I will not tolerate junior staff being scared to report what’s happening or their managers looking the other way.”