"A Reckoning Is Coming Over Women’s Salaries”

STORIES

BY KYLIE MORRIS

This week, Australian companies will reveal their gender pay gaps. Kylie Morris, who worked in the UK when similar legislation was introduced, warns that the fallout will be considerable. Read about her experience...

"Landing a job at Channel Four News in the UK was a dream for me, back in 2007. The hour-long nightly program was known for original stories, breaking news, and setting the agenda. Its reporters were fearless; they challenged governments, confronted those in authority and surprised and respected their viewers."

"We women worked at every level of the organisation. We spoke up at the editorial meetings, leaned in for our colleagues, and set the agenda for coverage. We had role models in one another and we juggled with the best of them. Kids, relationships, big loves, sharp losses, quick skills, occasionally inflexible bosses, and great, great stories to tell."

"In 2018, new laws came into force that compelled any UK company with more than 250 employees to publish information about the gender pay gap among their employees – and we were unprepared for the figures that were released. After all, our international editor, business editor, foreign editor, deputy editor, social affairs editor? All women! We were punching high, but as it turned out, they were paying low."

"On the day the figures were released, the news came via an all-users email. (Note the personal touch.) Nothing to see here, just a NEARLY TWENTY PER CENT MEAN PAY GAP between the ladies and the fellas. And breathe. THAT WAS TWICE THE BBC GAP. Breathe."

"On the day the figures were released, the news came via an all-users email. (Note the personal touch.) Nothing to see here, just a NEARLY TWENTY PER CENT MEAN PAY GAP between the ladies and the fellas. And breathe. THAT WAS TWICE THE BBC GAP. Breathe."

"As everyone in the newsroom opened the email, women began locking eyes with one another above their workstations. The shock and betrayal were palpable. All the time we women had been delivering and excelling – all those long, 12-hour days, under all that stress – our employers were quietly paying us less. Just because they could."

Meet The Women Making Thousands From Their Wardrobes

BY CAROLINE ZIELINSKI

Read about the fallout that followed at PRIMER.

READ IT HERE

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