Equal: A story of women, pay and the BBC

Carrie Gracie

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Orion
01 September 2019

Society & Social Sciences; Social discrimination; Employment & unemployment; Advice on careers & achieving success

EQUAL is an inspiring, personal and campaigning book about how we should and can fight for equal pay and other kinds of equality in the workplace, by former BBC China editor Carrie Gracie.

Gracie joined a group of high-profile BBC women who challenged the national broadcaster over equal pay after enforced disclosures revealed huge gaps between top men and women. Gracie had insisted on equal pay at the time of her China posting, and after trying with other BBC women to put things right through negotiation, she eventually resigned her post complaining publicly of a 'secretive and illegal' pay culture. Her protest triggered a parliamentary inquiry into BBC pay, and after a protracted internal complaints process, she won an apology from the BBC and a settlement which she donated to the Fawcett Society.

In EQUAL Gracie will tell her own story, explore why it is often so hard for women to assert their value in the workplace and give practical guidance on what women, men and employers can do to achieve equality for this and future generations of women.

By: Carrie Gracie
Imprint: Orion
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 214mm, Width: 132mm, Spine: 24mm
Weight: 300g
ISBN: 9780349012247
ISBN 10: 0349012245
Pages: 256
Publication Date: 01 September 2019
Audience: General/trade , Professional and scholarly , General/trade , ELT Advanced , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Carrie Gracie grew up in north east Scotland and set up a restaurant before completing a degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Oxford. Before becoming the BBC China Editor in 2014, she was the BBC's Beijing reporter, China correspondent and Beijing bureau chief as well as the morning anchor on the BBC News Channel and host of the weekly BBC World Service programme The Interview. She has also made documentaries about China for BBC TV and BBC Radio, winning prizes including a Peabody and an Emmy, and commentating at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. In January 2018, Gracie left her post as BBC China editor in protest at unequal pay, publishing an open letter to BBC audiences and appearing before a parliamentary select committee. In June 2018 she won a public apology and pay parity from the BBC, and then donated all her back pay to the gender equality charity, the Fawcett Society, to help low paid women facing pay discrimination and to seed a strategic litigation fund for equal pay test cases. She is currently on unpaid leave from the BBC, but she continues to be an active member of the 'BBC women' group pushing for a more equal, fair and transparent pay structure.

Reviews for Equal: A story of women, pay and the BBC

The story of [Carrie Gracie's] campaign - and why it matters * The Times * She quit her job as the BBC's China editor over pay discrimination. Now, in a personal and campaigning book, Carrie Gracie explains how to achieve true equality - both in terms of pay and in life * Red * [Carrie Gracie's] important account of her struggle to win equal pay is full of sound advice for women . . . Gracie understands all the various ways in which pay inequality can play havoc with a person's self-belief and peace of mind, and in her book she staples them to the page . . . For me, the most resonant parts of her book have to do with her self worth. Carrie, it's always such a joy to see you, says James Harding, the then director of news at the BBC, when she sees him for a meeting in 2015. You deliver so much and ask so little. -- Rachel Cooke * Observer * An instructive account of a gruelling battle for equal pay at the BBC . . . [Equal] is about more than just well-heeled media folk. Gracie paints a broader picture of the historical, academic and legal context of women's fight for equality . . . [It's] a tribute to the power of collective action * Financial Times * Carrie Gracie pulls no punches in this account of how she clashed with the BBC over gender-pay inequality . . . In the book, which is written with great clarity and backed up by a good deal of research, Gracie not only details her own experience but also weaves in studies showing how unconscious bias and gender stereotyping leave women undervalued at work * Sunday Times * Carrie Gracie's pragmatic and honest tone hugely boosts her aim of inspiring millions of women 'who are at grave risk of being underpaid and undervalued at some stage in their working lives, if not throughout it' * Mail on Sunday * Part instruction manual, part howl of rage, Equal tells a personal story that changed the public debate . . . The book is full of advice for others - there is a separate section at the end for employers, men and women . . . [Carrie Gracie's] decision to use her personal story for the public good has put the issue of equal pay firmly on the agenda * Guardian *