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Virago is publishing an "inspiring, personal and campaigning" book on equality in the workplace from journalist Carrie Gracie, one of the number of high-profile BBC women who challenged the national broadcaster over equal pay after enforced disclosures revealed huge gaps between top men and women.
Gracie resigned from her role as BBC China editor in January this year in a dispute over equal pay. Following public complaints she made accusing the corporation of having a "secretive and illegal" pay culture in an open letter, triggering a parliamentary inquiry into BBC pay, she won an apology in June as well as several years of backdated pay which she donated to gender equality charity the Fawcett Society.
In Equal, she will tell her own story, explore why it is often so hard for women to assert their value in the workplace and give practical guidance on what women, men and employers can do to achieve equality for this and future generations of women. Sarah Savitt, Virago publisher, acquired UK and Commonwealth rights in the book from Rebecca Carter at Janklow & Nesbit UK.
"I knew my work as an international editor was equal and I was shocked to discover that the women were paid so much less than the men, and then shocked again by how hard it was to put that right," said Gracie. "I hope my story can help other women learn important lessons without having to live them. There are things we can do to assert our value at work and protect our right to equal pay, and there are concrete ways our male peers and employers can help."
Savitt commented: "I watched Carrie Gracie’s campaign with awe and gratitude and it is truly an honour to work with her on her first book. The clarity, intelligence and openness she brought first to her broadcasting career and then to her activism translate brilliantly to the page and I hope Equal will be an important, purposeful intervention in our conversations around equality."
Virago will publish Equal in September 2019.