The broadcaster, which airs the popular Milkshake! preschool programming strand and shows such as Big Brother and U.S. comedy Will and Grace, had a mean difference of 2.85% in favor of women, although its median was 2% in favor of men. This is in stark contrast to its rivals including Channel 4, which had a mean gender pay gap of 28.6%, ITV, which had a gap of 16.4%, Sky, which had a 11.5% and the BBC, which reported a gap of 10.7%. The national average is a mean gap of 17.4% and a median gap of 18.4%. However, male employees at Channel 5, which include Director of Programmes Ben Frow, received median annual bonus payments 22.5% higher than their female counterparts.
Elsewhere, at Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN), which includes the centralised functions of the UK operation as well as employees at its international distribution division, had a mean gender pay gap of 11.7% in favor of men, with a median gap of 13.7%.
Channel 5 and VIMN were the only two Viacom-owned divisions required to report as both have more than 250 employees. However, the parent company of Nickelodeon and MTV did report the figures across its other operations. Overall, it had a 2.8% mean gender pay gap and a median gap of 9% with a gender bonus hap of 33% on a mean basis and 22.5% on a median basis. Its Viacom subsidiaries, which include Comedy Central and Nickelodeon, as well as a number of other functions had a 7.6% mean gap in favor of women and a 9% median gap in favor of men.
Viacom acquired Channel 5 in 2014.
James Currell, President, VIMN UK, Northern and Eastern Europe, said that it was benchmarking its pay grades across its UK workforce to ensure consistent levels and was continuing to make progress towards eradicating any differences between what it pays its male and female employees. “Our performance compares well with the national average, but we still have areas of marked imbalance, particularly on bonuses. We are evolving our employment practices with a view to eradicating our gender pay gap over time – making further progress against this objective will be a key performance indicator for our senior management team in 2018 and beyond,” he added.
Original source: Deadline.
Also, from Variety:
In Reversal of Norm, Viacom’s U.K. Channel 5 Reports Gender Pay Gap in Favor of Women
With British broadcasters and media companies revealing yawning gender pay gaps in favor men, Channel 5 has bucked the trend and reported that, on average, its female employees earn more than their male counterparts.
The Viacom-owned free-TV channel – which airs local show “Celebrity Big Brother” and U.S. imports including “Will & Grace” and “The X-Files” – said that the women in its ranks earned 2.85% more than the men. But the situation was reversed when it came to bonuses, with men receiving 21.3% more, on average.
The average earnings differential makes Channel 5 the only British broadcaster to report a gender pay divide where the women come out on top. Its commercial TV peers have reported double-digit gaps in favor of men: 28.6% at Channel 4, 16.4% at ITV, and 11.5% at Sky. The BBC, which is at the center of a gender pay storm, pays men 10.7% more on average.
Employers with more than 250 employees in the U.K. are legally bound to report gender-based pay data. Viacom has seven U.K. subsidiaries, two of which are obliged to publish figures.
Viacom International Media Networks U.K., the other division required to report, had an 11.7% gender gap in favor of men, rising to 37.6% for bonuses.
U.S. media giant Viacom has also gone beyond the legal requirements and put out gender pay details for its entire 1,050-strong U.K. workforce. That revealed that men earned 2.8% more on average, and 33% more in terms of bonuses.
“Our performance compares well with the national average, but we still have areas of marked imbalance, particularly on bonuses,” said James Currell, president, VIMN UK, Northern and Eastern Europe.
“We are evolving our employment practices with a view to eradicating our gender pay gap over time,” he said. “Making further progress against this objective will be a key performance indicator for our senior management team in 2018 and beyond.”
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Also, from The Drum:
Men paid 2.8% more at Viacom UK - but Channel 5 pays women more on average
Viacom has aired its mean gender pay gap. So far the broadcaster has struck the greatest balance in the UK media although there remains a discrepancy with women taking on executive roles and receiving bonuses.
The government requires companies of more than 250 staff to report the pay deficit between the genders and in the media sphere. Trinity Mirror’s sits at 15% in favour of men, Channel 4 at 28% - treble that of the BBC’s deficit and ITN 18.2%.
Viacom has seven subsidiaries or joint operations in the UK, but only two crossed the 250 staff threshold, nonetheless, the broadcaster opted to include the data for the whole operation in its report.
Across the company, there is a mean gender pay gap in favour of male employees of 2.8%. Nonetheless, a problem apparent across the board was bonuses. Mean annual bonus payments were 33% higher for men than for women.
The first group Viacom was required to announce was Channel 5 where women were on average paid 2.85% more. However, bonuses were still skewed towards men, sitting at 21.3%. The second subsidiary was VIMN UK, where the gender pay gap was 11.7% weighted towards men. Similarly, bonuses were 37.6% higher for men.
It noted that the workforce was split evenly between men and women, but more men are in higher paid roles.
James Currell, president of VIMN UK, Northern and Eastern Europe, said: “Our performance compares well with the national average, but we still have areas of marked imbalance, particularly on bonuses.
“We are evolving our employment practices with a view to eradicating our gender pay gap over time – making further progress against this objective will be a key performance indicator for our senior management team in 2018 and beyond.”
--Ends--
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