Recently the BBC in the UK released salary details of all their staff earning over £150k per year, and this reminded me of a personal experience from some years ago.
最近英國廣播公司公佈年薪超過£150k員工的名單, 令我想起在英國工作時的親身經歷。
First, let's take at look at the BBC report. The highest earner Chris Evans is a presenter and radio DJ, and hosted the popular Top Gear programme for one season last year. He was paid between £2.2m - £2.5m a year. The next person Gary Lineker a sports presenter, was paid between £1.75m - £1.8m The next 6 people were each paid between £450k - £850k per year, and guess what? They are all male! The first female to appear on the list is Claudia Winkleman in joint 8th place. She is also a presenter earning between £450k -£500k per year. Her pay is roughly 20% -25% of the highest earner.
不如先看看這個報告。年薪最高的 Chris Evans是一位主持人和電台 DJ, 曾經主持過熱門資訊節目 Top Gear，他的年薪介乎£2.2m - £2.5m 。第二位 Gary Lineker是一位運動節目主持人，年薪£1.75m - £1.8m 之間。之後6名單上六位每人年薪都在£450k - £850k之間。重點是，他們全都是男生!第一位出現在排行榜上的女生Claudia Winkleman 與另一位男生併排第八位，年薪在£450k -£500k 之間，大概是榜首的 20% - 25%。
This gender pay inequality reminded me of a personal experience from 2010 when I was working in the UK . My old employer used to be the largest private sector employer in the UK, and one day I got a letter out of the blue saying they were going to increase my salary. That's nice I hear you say. Then I continued to read the letter. They said (I can't remember the exact words they used) due to the new law "Equality Act" due to come into effect soon, they had to increase my salary to bring it within the salary range for my grade. I always knew the company had salary ranges but the details were only available to line managers so I didn't know where I was on the scale. The letter continued to say with immediate effect I would get a pay increase of ....... £300 per year! Yes, that's right, I didn't miss out a digit by mistake, it's £300 EACH YEAR. After tax, that's roughly £15 each month.
性別工資不平等這回事，令我想起2010年在英國工作時的親身經歷。當年我工作的公司是英國最大的私營顧主，突然有一天公司發信通知我說要調高我的薪金。聽來應該很開心不錯噢，突然加薪! 繼續看信件，公司說因為新的平等法律即將生效，而我的薪金在薪資級距之下，所以有必要把它調漲到級距內。我一直都知道公司有薪資級距，但詳情只有經理級才知道，所以我從來都不知自己的薪金在級距那一點。信中更提到加薪即時生效，每年加.......£300! 對呀，你沒看錯我也沒寫錯，是£300 一年。除稅後，每個月剩大概有£15。
Compared to my other team members, I had more work experience than some, and I wasn't the least qualified. So to me, this was a big slap in the face, three times in fact. First, they told me all along I was underpaid compared to my peers. Second, my pay was still at the bottom of the range (of course they wouldn't have paid me more than necessary). And third, if there wasn't a new law, would they have addressed the issue? So you see why I say I was slapped three times in the face, £100 each time. Some of you may think I'm being ungrateful, but if I told you that two years later I got a new job with 33% pay rise which was the market rate, then you will understand why I was so annoyed.
相比其他同事，我不是經驗最淺，資歷也不比其他人弱。對我來說，這個薪調就像被人摑了一巴掌，錯，應該是三巴掌才對。第一，原來我薪金一直較同事低。二，調整後我薪金還在級距的最低點(公司當然只是加到剛好乎合法律要求)。三，如果沒有新法律，公司會正視這個問題嗎?你說我是不是被人摑了三大巴掌，£100一巴掌? 你可能覺得我小題大做，不感激公司為我做的。但如果我跟你講，兩年後我找到新工作而且薪金漲了33%，亦即是當時市場合理價位，你就會了解我當時的感受。
Although UK is one if the most advanced countries in the world, gender and race inequality still exists in this day and age. The BBC report is a perfect example and I am sure there are many more companies out there who aren't so transparent. I'm not a feminist, but I believe in equal pay regardless of gender and race.
雖然英國是世上其中一個最先進及發達的國家，可惜性別及種族不平等情況在今天還存在。英國廣播公司這個報告就是最佳例子，而我相信還有很多透明度沒那麼高的機構也有這狀況。我不是女權主意者，但我絕對支持不論甚麼性別或種族，都應有平等薪酬。