BBC pay data shows ethnic minority staff paid more in six of seven bands
New figures show ethnic minority BBC staff earn higher median pay than white colleagues in six of seven pay bands, while white staff still earn slightly more overall, coverage says.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
Newly reported figures on BBC pay show a mixed picture. Within the corporation's pay bands, staff from Black, Asian, mixed and other ethnic minority backgrounds receive higher median pay than white colleagues in six of the seven bands, with white staff ahead in only one.
In the lowest pay band, ethnic minority staff are paid 13.2% more in median terms than white workers, according to the figures. In the highest pay band, the gap is 5.3% in favour of ethnic minority staff. White employees are paid 0.6% more in one band, identified in discussion as band F, the highest level for non-executives. Further figures cited by critics said disabled managers are paid 7.5% more than white staff and LGBTQ+ staff in the highest band are paid 8.8% more.
The overall picture is contested. Kevin Craig, a public affairs executive and former Labour counsellor, said the headline figures were selective because white staff still earn 0.7% more than ethnic minority staff across the BBC and men earn 7.6% more than women. He said the main ethnic pay difference is within pay bands, with 13.2% the biggest gap, and argued the broadcaster should employ a workforce that reflects the general population.
Critics of the BBC used the figures to argue that the corporation is prioritising diversity targets over merit. Rebecca Ryan, campaign director of Defund the BBC, said public money was being used to hit quotas and that people should be paid according to how good they are at their job, not the boxes they tick. Allister Heath, editor of the Sunday Telegraph, said he opposed compulsory publication of such data, called for the licence fee to be abolished and said the BBC had a progressive agenda.
The discussion also touched on whether the gaps amount to discrimination. One contributor said that if the pattern were reversed, it would be described as racist discrimination, and questioned why there was no equivalent outcry. Others said top-presenter pay is harder to compare because audience draw and fame vary, though jobs that are clearly comparable should be paid equally. The figures have renewed scrutiny of BBC pay, representation and value for money ahead of charter review.
On screen
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Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, grouped by how many channels reported each one. Select a dot to see the source excerpt.
| Claim |  |
|---|---|
| Only on one channel | |
| A guest counterpoint stated that white staff earn 0.7% more than ethnic minority staff overall, while men earn 7.6% more than women. | |
| New figures indicate the BBC pays white staff less on average than ethnic minority colleagues in all but one pay band, with ethnic minority median pay 13.2% higher in the lowest band and 5.3% higher in the highest. | |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
GB News framed the figures as a fresh scandal, with presenters asking whether the BBC is using licence fee money to atone for 'the sins of whiteness' and treating white staff unfairly. The channel gave prominence to critics of BBC diversity policies and calls to defund the corporation, but also aired a Labour guest's counter that white staff still earn more overall and men earn more than women. It treated the pay-band gaps as evidence of woke quotas while acknowledging that top talent pay is harder to compare.
- “The BBC is paying its ethnic minority staff more than their white counterparts in every pay bracket bar one.”
- “if this was the other way around you would have to call this racist discrimination wouldn't yeah right”
- “people should be paid based on meritocracy, based on how hard they work, how good they are at their job, and not based on some box that they're ticking.”
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.