10 Informed Spotlight


NUJ Women launched to fight sexism in the media


for the coming cycle, including the launch of NUJ Women.” Chapels are now meeting to discuss how


to negotiate with their employers to close the gender pay gap, with many carrying out in-house pay audits. Anger among women media workers has led them, and their male colleagues, to ask the union to set up chapels to tackle the issue. Te campaign will involve negotiating


“Gender pay gaps demonstrate the range of inequalities in our industry”


A NUJ Women’s network has been launched as part of a major initiative to prioritise a union-wide campaign to support women affected by sexism, discrimination and harassment in the workplace and end discrimination in pay.


A motion from the NEC, proposed by


general secretary Michelle Stanistreet, noted “the long overdue spotlight cast on the scourge of pay inequity” by new regulations which forces employers with more than 250 workers to publish data on the difference in pay and bonuses between the sexes.


Te union has been in the vanguard


of defending members following the BBC’s publication of a list of its highest earners, which revealed only a third of those paid more than £150,000 were women. Te union has now lodged more


than 180 equal pay cases on behalf of NUJ members which have inspired many other cases, and successful setlements, at workplaces elsewhere in the industry. Michelle Stanistreet said: “Publication of the gender pay gaps demonstrates so clearly the range of inequalities that exist in our industry and we need to work hard – drawing in chapel reps, members, new recruits, to eradicate this scourge and forcing employers to clean up their act. “We are in the process of negotiating setlements for women who have been short-changed for years in many workplaces, demonstrating how companies will not be able to continue geting away with such blatant discrimination. “To that end, there is a late notice motion from the national executive seting out an action plan – a batle plan –


improved family friendly policies and flexible working and seeking commitment from employers to more part-time working and job sharing, particularly for senior positions that are too oſten dominated by men. Te union has a webpage on equal pay and the gender pay gap htps://www. nuj.org.uk/campaigns/equal-pay-and- gender-pay-gap/ which gives details of the gap across the industry and provides information for chapels and reps on how to negotiate fair and transparent pay policies. An analysis by Press Gazete showed that 91 per cent of UK-based media companies on average paid men more than women, based on the mean hourly rate, and 85 per cent paid men more in mean bonus pay. Te worst offenders were Condé Nast, publisher of Vogue, GQ and Vanity Fair, Te Telegraph, Economist and publishing group Hachete. DM also voted for a 10-point plan to help women achieve a stronger public voice, combat sexism and to press for all sectors of the media to adopt responsible reporting standards demonstrating respect for women. Eleanor Lisney, London independent broadcasting and new media branch, said the union needed to support women so they felt able to come forward with complaints of sexism and “push for greater diversity in all newsrooms with intersectional


Ana Jaks


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