Have you ever wondered how much you’re paid compared to your colleagues?

I didn’t – until BBC Scotland hired several men whose starting salaries were rumoured to be way more than mine. I started to ask my fellow specialist correspondents what they were on, and I was shocked to find that I was one of the lowest paid – despite having one of the busiest briefs. Of course, this shook my confidence. Why was I worth so much less?

The obvious reason was that I wasn’t as good, but I was told in appraisals that I was a ‘model correspondent’. I was in demand to provide reports for flagship UK-wide programmes, as well as BBC Scotland. The feedback from my managers and, more importantly, the audience was good. I hadn’t taken time out for maternity leave and I was extremely experienced.

Confused, I began to look into other reasons. The wealth of evidence out there about gender discrimination shocked me. Perhaps the most stunning example is that involving orchestras: in the Seventies, the top five orchestras in the U.S. had fewer than 5% women musicians. They decided to hold blind auditions, behind a curtain, but the imbalance continued. Then someone suggested that each candidate take off their shoes before they walked on stage. It was only then, when those hiring couldn’t hear the clip-clop of a women’s heels, that they began to employ more women.

“I was paid less than my male BBC colleagues. This is what I did”