Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Martina Navratilova to work at Wimbledon despite criticising BBC over gender pay

Tennis star tweeted that it was 'good to see the BBC taking gender pay equality seriously'

Chiara Giordano
Tuesday 19 June 2018 15:59 BST
Comments
Martina Navratilova says John McEnroe is paid ten times more than her for Wimbledon coverage

Tennis star Martina Navratilova has announced she will be working at Wimbledon this year several months after hitting out at the BBC over gender pay.

The 61-year-old said in a tweet that she was "very happy" to reveal the news and that it was "good to see the BBC taking gender pay equality seriously".

Navratilova previously spoke of her shock at discovering fellow Wimbledon pundit John McEnroe was paid at least 10 times more than her after the BBC published a list of its top-paid presenters last summer.

The tennis legend, who was crowned Wimbledon ladies’ champion nine times, told Panorama in March that she was paid about £15,000 by the BBC for her commentator role at Wimbledon, while McEnroe earned at least £150,000.

"It was a shock because John McEnroe makes at least £150,000,” she said. “I get about £15,000 for Wimbledon and unless John McEnroe's doing a whole bunch of stuff outside of Wimbledon he's getting at least 10 times as much money.

"[I'm] not happy... It's shocking... It's still the good old boys network... The bottom line is that male voices are valued more than women's voices."

At the time, the BBC said the roles performed by McEnroe and Navratilova were "simply not comparable".

"John and Martina perform different roles in the team, and John's role is of a different scale, scope and time commitment,” said the broadcaster. “John's pay reflects all of this - gender isn't a factor.”

It is not clear whether Navratilova's pay has now been increased, or what her earnings will be this year, but the pundit previously said her agent would ask for more money in future.

Martina Navratilova stretches to make a back hand return

The BBC says it does not comment on individual contracts.

McEnroe’s pay packet was revealed in a report which listed the BBC’s top-paid presenters in July 2017.

The BBC came under fire after the list revealed an imbalance between the numbers of men and women at the top of the list.

The report showed about two thirds of stars were earning more than £150,000 – and that all of the seven highest earners were male.

It was the first time the pay of stars earning more than £150,000 had been made public.

Chris Evans topped the list, making between £2.2m and £2.25m in 2016/2017, while Claudia Winkleman was the highest-paid female, earning between £450,000 and £500,000.

The One Show's Alex Jones was the second highest-paid female, earning between £400,000 and £450,000.

Former BBC China editor Carrie Gracie resigned from her role in protest against inequalities but still works in the broadcaster's newsroom.

The outcry sparked by the revelation prompted the BBC to review its pay structure, with the corporation finding that men were being paid an average of 9.3 per cent more than women.

The figure covers all staff, on and off air, and has been attributed to the fact there are more men in senior jobs.

BBC director, Tony Hall, admitted there was “more to do” on gender pay gap and the broadcaster pledged to achieve equality between men and women on air by 2020.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in