CARRIE GRACIE AND PAY EQUALITY AT THE BBC

That this House believes that the resignation of Carrie Gracie, the former China Editor of the BBC, highlights the anger and frustration of many women journalists at the BBC that a swifter resolution has not been reached to the scourge of unequal pay at our public service broadcaster; notes that figures published in 2017 revealed that the BBC's two male international editors have been paid, at least 50 per cent more, than its two female counterparts; further notes that of the list of those earning over £150,000, only a third were women and just 10 of the 96 were black or minority ethnic backgrounds; supports the National Union of Journalists in pursuing a collective grievance on behalf of 121 women who work across the BBC in a variety of roles and grades, on top of a number of individual cases that were already in train; calls for urgent government action so that pay equality is addressed across the media and broadcasting industries more generally and that effective sanctions are served on employers who flout equal pay legislation.