The gap between male and female earnings in RTÉ is substantially less that the national average, an independent report to be published today has found.
The average discrepancy between more than 2,000 male and female staff is understood to be 4 per cent, according to a report from Kieran Mulvey, the former director general of the Workplace Relations Commission.
This is substantially less than the national average of 14 per cent, although the report does not cover those who are paid through external companies and receive larger amounts from RTÉ, such as Late Late Show host Ryan Tubridy.
It is understood this is a particular concern of staff in RTÉ, who believe the exclusion of such people does not provide a complete picture.
Sources said Mr Mulvey’s report, the contents of which will be made available to RTÉ workers Wednesday afternoon, will find some discrepancies from the average in certain sectors of the organisation, although they are not expected to be much higher.
The exercised carried out by Mr Mulvey, who began his work in July, assessed the relative levels of pay between men and women who were either full-time RTÉ workers or “full-time equivalents”, such as those on contracts for a fixed-term period.
Promotions
It is understood there are discrepancies in the news and current affairs department, and Mr Mulvey is also expected to highlight issues around transparency and how some promotions are made within the organisation.
A similar exercise carried out in the BBC found that men were being paid an average of 9.3 per cent more than women. The gender pay gap emerged as an issue in RTÉ during the summer, following a similar controversy at the BBC.
RTÉ brought forward the publication of its highest-paid presenter list for the year 2015 following the BBC controversy, and public comments by several female RTÉ presenters and journalists about a similar gap in RTÉ.
The list of the highest paid presenters showed that only three of the top 10 earners at RTÉ for 2015 were women. Mr Tubridy was highest paid with a €495,000 salary. The second- and third-highest paid were Joe Duffy and Ray D'Arcy, followed by Miriam O'Callaghan and radio host Marian Finucane.
Claire Byrne was the only other woman to feature on the list of the top 10 earners, seven of whom were paid through external companies.