Women can tackle gender pay gap by asking for more money, Lord Sugar insists

Chloe Chaplain31 October 2017

Lord Alan Sugar said it is “disgraceful” that the BBC was forced to publish the earnings of its top talent and argued women can narrow the gender pay gap by simply asking to be paid more.

The Apprentice star and business tycoon said he believes pay is a private issue and that companies should not be forced into pay transparency.

The BBC has been caught up in a gender pay gap storm after its annual review highlighted two-thirds of the highest paid on-screen members of staff were male.

"I don't think transparency over pay is the correct thing. It's a private issue and I think it's disgraceful, actually, that the BBC were forced to publish what people were earning,” he told the Press Association.

Gender pay gap: Lord Sugar said women should be asked to be paid more 
AFP/Getty Images

"I don't believe that people should publish what people are earning to start the debate that 'Charlie earns this, and Celia only gets that, but she does the same job'. I don't think that was right."

When asked if he sees the pay gap narrowing, he said: "It can be narrowed by the lady herself saying, 'No, I want more money'. Right, you want me to do that, I want more money'.

"Her agent should come along and say, 'Hold on, I know how much Charlie's being paid and I want more for my lady to do it.'

"If the BBC, or ITV, or Channel 4, or Channel 5 say 'nah, not really', then, tough. She'll have to decide what she wants to be paid."

In July, some of the top women working at the BBC called on the broadcasting company to “act now” to deal with the gender pay gap after it emerged most of the employees earning £150,000 or more were men.

More than 40 women signed the letter calling on the pay gap to be closed, including Sue Barker, Mishal Husain, Sarah Montague, Fiona Bruce and Alex Jones.

The report showed "what many of us have suspected for many years... that women at the BBC are being paid less than men for the same work," the letter said.

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