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Women in broadcasting still facing lower wages than men and sexism, says NUJ

By James Doleman

September 30, 2014 | 4 min read

Women working in TV and radio are paid less and are less likely to be promoted than male colleagues, according to the National Union of Journalists (NUJ).

national union of journalists women

NUJ women members

As part of its evidence to a House of Lords inquiry the National Union of Journalists surveyed its female members and found that women working in broadcast find sexist attitudes prevalent in the workplace.

A snapshot survey of 227 NUJ members disclosed unequal pay rates and women being overlooked for promotion.

As part of its evidence for the House of Lords Communication Committee's inquiry into women in broadcasting, the NUJ surveyed its female members working or have worked in TV and radio. The results showed that women were more likely than men to be judged by their looks, and were given "softer" stories to cover, according to the NUJ.

The survey also suggested that in many cases women were earning less – in some cases more than £10,000 less than their male counterparts.

One respondent to the poll told the NUJ: "Until recently, I earned less than half the salary enjoyed by my male comparators," while a BBC worker said: "A man at exactly the same grade as me, with far less education and experience, and who joined the BBC after I did was paid £10,000 more than me."

The NUJ also revealed that despite broadcasters' commitments to equality women working in the industry still faced incidents of “everyday sexism.”

One respondent reported: “I've been told that I was sent to jobs because I'm attractive (and the people I'm interviewing were told I'm attractive), but then I was told not to go for a new job because emotionally I'm a bit weak."

Another female broadcasting worker told the NUJ that appearance was considered far more important for women than men in the industry saying: “Women are not allowed to age and are expected to be more than averagely attractive and well presented. The same is not true of men."

Responding to the results, NUJ equality office Lena Calvert, said: "Our survey of members shows that in many ways broadcasting has become an easier environment for women to work in and many can enjoy a good career, but there is still a worryingly high level of sexist behaviour in newsrooms and studios."

Calvert continued: "It is staggering to learn that women are being paid less than their male colleagues when doing exactly the same job. It is an appalling state of affairs that parts of the industry are still seen as a boys' club where women find their promotion and progression blocked. “

However, not all responses were negative with one woman taking the survey saying: "There are lots of women in broadcasting. The medium can be ageist but, by and large, there's no barrier if you're good."

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