POLITICIANS have expressed concern over the gender pay disparity within BBC Northern Ireland.
The Irish News on Monday revealed that women hold fewer than a third of the top-paid jobs – a lower proportion than any other BBC region.
Of almost 700 people in BBC NI, 44 per cent are women. This is also lower than any other region and below the 48 per cent for the BBC overall.
In the top salary bands SM1&2 and 10-11, under 30 per cent of BBC NI's full-time-equivalent staff are women.
This is below the 41 per cent figure for the corporation as a whole, although the BBC's overall figures are based on an employee headcount rather than full-time-equivalent stats.
DUP South Belfast MP Emma Little-Pengelly said: "Whilst the obvious focus was on the salaries of individual presenters, the gender pay gap was the bigger underlying issue when BBC salaries were finally published last year.
"The focus on this issue comes as a direct result of that publication which was only achieved after many years of pressure, and resistance by the BBC.
"It is particularly concerning that BBC Northern Ireland fares even worse than other UK regions and we await to hear what action will be taken locally to address this and other issues affecting the corporation here in Northern Ireland."
Sinn Féin South Down MLA Sinéad Ennis said her party shares the "widespread concerns at the inequalities that persist within the BBC and indeed wider society".
The party's culture and arts spokesperson added: "As a publicly-funded organisation, there is an onus on the BBC to be transparent about the levels of salaries it pays and they should strive to redress this inequality."
Earlier this month the BBC's China editor Carrie Gracie resigned, claiming "unlawful pay discrimination".
Last July the BBC published a list of its best-paid stars, which showed that about two-thirds of those earning more than £150,000 were male.
A BBC NI spokesman said: "BBC Northern Ireland will play its part in helping the wider BBC achieve its targets."
