ITN reveals 18% gender pay gap

ITN, which makes news programmes for ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5, pays men an average of 18.2% more than women.

That is lower than the national median average pay gap of 18.4%. When it comes to bonus payments, ITN's gap is 50%.

The company said 17 of its 20 top earners are men.

ITN CEO John Hardie said the gap was "mainly caused by having fewer women than men in senior leadership roles and we know that we have to work even harder to address this".

Channel 4 News presenter Cathy Newman said the figures showed "just how pervasive inequality is".

The company announced a series of measures to improve the picture, including reducing the overall pay gap by 50% over the next five years.

It also said it would make sure half of the 20 top earners' roles would be occupied by women within five years.

The Guardian also released figures on Wednesday, showing its median pay difference is 12.1% - with a figure of 9% for editorial staff and 18.2% for non-editorial.

In a statement, editor-in-chief Katharine Viner and David Pemsel said while the gap was lower than the national average, it was "not good enough" and they aim to reduce it further.

"The gap is driven by two main factors: there are more men in the highest-paid and most senior roles; and there are more women in lower-paid administration, sales and marketing roles," they said.

"While this is the case at many organisations and reflects society more broadly, it does not make it acceptable."

Guardian News and Media said it wants to achieve 50:50 equal pay in the top half of the company within the next five years.

"This is an ambitious goal but one we will strive to achieve," said Viner and Pemsel.

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