Jackie O walks out of studio after gender pay gap revelation: ‘It makes my blood boil’
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The airwaves buzz with more than music and chatter; they've become a medium for revealing and challenging social injustices.
In a bold move that underscores this role, radio luminary Jackie 'O' Henderson made headlines as she took a stand against a simmering issue in the broadcasting sphere: the persistent gender pay gap.
Jackie O, who co-hosts the hit radio program with Kyle Sandilands, was left stunned and outraged upon learning that her colleagues were not enjoying the same equal pay.
The duo had signed a 10-year deal reportedly worth $200 million, or $10 million each per year.
'Southern Cross Austereo has a disgraceful 5.9 per cent pay gap. At Nova and Smooth FM, it is even worse, six per cent. But unfortunately, the number one spot is at KIIS FM,' Sandilands informed listeners on Tuesday, 27 February.
'At the top of the tree with a 12 per cent pay gap disparity.'
The revelation came when series producer intern Pete Deppeler and a female KIIS FM colleague disclosed that the female producer was only being paid half of what Deppeler was earning.
'Are you freaking joking? Why is Peter getting that much money? I’m so angry about that, it makes my blood boil,' Jackie O responded.
She then exited the studio with female staff.
But she later told her listeners, ‘We are just here with the fellas. I don’t know whether I am enjoying this, bring the girls back!’
The gender pay gap is a persistent issue in Australia, with the national gap for total remuneration being 19 per cent, according to data from the Workplace Gender Equality Agency.
This means the median Australian female worker takes home $18,461 less than their male counterpart.
This also came after data revealed a gender pay gap in nearly 5,000 Australian companies.
Wesfarmers, the parent company of Bunnings, reported a median gender pay gap of 3.5 per cent for total remuneration, with the gap widening to 7 per cent at the base salary level.
Jenny Bryant, Wesfarmers’ Chief Human Resources Officer, attributed the pay gap to the company's lower number of women in technology roles.
This led the Albanese Government to mandate companies to publish the pay gap data so it can be compared among industries.
However, this decision has been criticised by National Members of the Parliament (MPs) like Matt Canavan.
He argued that publishing pay gap data could hurt men's feelings and drive them towards controversial figures like Andrew Tate, who has been criticised for his misogynistic views.
Canavan branded the first major gender pay gap report as 'useless' and an 'annual Andrew Tate recruitment drive'.
‘People, young men in particular, feel like they are now being discriminated against, and that’s why they’re coming to watch the likes of Andrew Tate in droves,’ he said.
‘People on this side know that releasing that sort of data is effective, and you will only find on the other side of politics anyone arguing that it is useless.’
‘The days of secretly paying women less than men are now over,’ he added.
His comments have been the main focus of discussion in Parliament. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Finance Minister Katy Gallagher, and Workplace Minister Tony Burke urged Peter Dutton to reject the remarks.
Sandilands had previously revealed that he felt 'paralysed' when he realised he was significantly out-earning Jackie O in the early days of their on-air partnership.
His $258,000 pay packet in 1999, when he replaced ‘Ugly’ Phil O’Neill on Hot30 Countdown, was around $80,000 more than his female co-host, who had been on the program much longer.
'I was sort of paralysed…I was like, “What do you mean you get 80 [thousand dollars]? You’re Jackie O,”’ he said on Mia Freedman’s No Filter podcast.
‘I just assumed they were getting the same. I didn’t know there was diversity or difference. I knew nothing about that.’
Sandilands took the issue to the former General Manager of 2DayFM and Triple M, Cathy O’Connor, and demanded equal pay.
'I said, “It has to be 50/50. I expect her to be in there all the time, like I will be, and you’re just going to have to take from mine and just make up the difference with hers, pay her the difference out of mine and make it even,”’ he said.
In recent years, Jackie O and Sandilands signed a staggering new contract reportedly worth more than $200 million, keeping them on air with KIIS FM for the next ten years.
However, KIIS FM has been in the headlines over huge pay disparities between star radio presenters.
Kate Langbroek, for instance, revealed she earned 40 per cent less than her radio co-host Dave Hughes.
'Hughesy and I did a radio show together for eighteen years and had never discussed what we got paid,' she said.
'It turned out he was getting paid 40 per cent more than I was. This was the Hughesy and Kate show that we had made together and didn’t exist without us,' she said.
‘Show business is not a standard situation, but we did a radio show together for 18 years. It changed our relationship when we talked about money, and I then left.’
Hughes and Langbroek co-hosted the Hughesy and Kate show on KIIS FM until 2017 before jumping over to the Hit Network in 2018.
What are your thoughts on this issue, members? Do you think there are similar pay disparities in your industry? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
In a bold move that underscores this role, radio luminary Jackie 'O' Henderson made headlines as she took a stand against a simmering issue in the broadcasting sphere: the persistent gender pay gap.
Jackie O, who co-hosts the hit radio program with Kyle Sandilands, was left stunned and outraged upon learning that her colleagues were not enjoying the same equal pay.
The duo had signed a 10-year deal reportedly worth $200 million, or $10 million each per year.
Jackie ‘O’ Henderson walked out of the KIIS FM studio after learning about the gender pay gap. Credit: @kyleandjackieo / Instagram
'Southern Cross Austereo has a disgraceful 5.9 per cent pay gap. At Nova and Smooth FM, it is even worse, six per cent. But unfortunately, the number one spot is at KIIS FM,' Sandilands informed listeners on Tuesday, 27 February.
'At the top of the tree with a 12 per cent pay gap disparity.'
The revelation came when series producer intern Pete Deppeler and a female KIIS FM colleague disclosed that the female producer was only being paid half of what Deppeler was earning.
'Are you freaking joking? Why is Peter getting that much money? I’m so angry about that, it makes my blood boil,' Jackie O responded.
She then exited the studio with female staff.
But she later told her listeners, ‘We are just here with the fellas. I don’t know whether I am enjoying this, bring the girls back!’
The gender pay gap is a persistent issue in Australia, with the national gap for total remuneration being 19 per cent, according to data from the Workplace Gender Equality Agency.
This means the median Australian female worker takes home $18,461 less than their male counterpart.
This also came after data revealed a gender pay gap in nearly 5,000 Australian companies.
Wesfarmers, the parent company of Bunnings, reported a median gender pay gap of 3.5 per cent for total remuneration, with the gap widening to 7 per cent at the base salary level.
Jenny Bryant, Wesfarmers’ Chief Human Resources Officer, attributed the pay gap to the company's lower number of women in technology roles.
This led the Albanese Government to mandate companies to publish the pay gap data so it can be compared among industries.
However, this decision has been criticised by National Members of the Parliament (MPs) like Matt Canavan.
He argued that publishing pay gap data could hurt men's feelings and drive them towards controversial figures like Andrew Tate, who has been criticised for his misogynistic views.
Canavan branded the first major gender pay gap report as 'useless' and an 'annual Andrew Tate recruitment drive'.
‘People, young men in particular, feel like they are now being discriminated against, and that’s why they’re coming to watch the likes of Andrew Tate in droves,’ he said.
‘People on this side know that releasing that sort of data is effective, and you will only find on the other side of politics anyone arguing that it is useless.’
‘The days of secretly paying women less than men are now over,’ he added.
His comments have been the main focus of discussion in Parliament. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Finance Minister Katy Gallagher, and Workplace Minister Tony Burke urged Peter Dutton to reject the remarks.
National MP Matt Canavan criticised the Albanese Government’s decision to publish gender pay gap data. Credit: Senator Matthew Canavan / Facebook
Sandilands had previously revealed that he felt 'paralysed' when he realised he was significantly out-earning Jackie O in the early days of their on-air partnership.
His $258,000 pay packet in 1999, when he replaced ‘Ugly’ Phil O’Neill on Hot30 Countdown, was around $80,000 more than his female co-host, who had been on the program much longer.
'I was sort of paralysed…I was like, “What do you mean you get 80 [thousand dollars]? You’re Jackie O,”’ he said on Mia Freedman’s No Filter podcast.
‘I just assumed they were getting the same. I didn’t know there was diversity or difference. I knew nothing about that.’
Sandilands took the issue to the former General Manager of 2DayFM and Triple M, Cathy O’Connor, and demanded equal pay.
'I said, “It has to be 50/50. I expect her to be in there all the time, like I will be, and you’re just going to have to take from mine and just make up the difference with hers, pay her the difference out of mine and make it even,”’ he said.
In recent years, Jackie O and Sandilands signed a staggering new contract reportedly worth more than $200 million, keeping them on air with KIIS FM for the next ten years.
However, KIIS FM has been in the headlines over huge pay disparities between star radio presenters.
Kate Langbroek, for instance, revealed she earned 40 per cent less than her radio co-host Dave Hughes.
'Hughesy and I did a radio show together for eighteen years and had never discussed what we got paid,' she said.
'It turned out he was getting paid 40 per cent more than I was. This was the Hughesy and Kate show that we had made together and didn’t exist without us,' she said.
‘Show business is not a standard situation, but we did a radio show together for 18 years. It changed our relationship when we talked about money, and I then left.’
Hughes and Langbroek co-hosted the Hughesy and Kate show on KIIS FM until 2017 before jumping over to the Hit Network in 2018.
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