The BBC has just published a list of its highest paid male and female stars, opening up a row over a gender pay gap in the corporation.

The revelation that BBC men and women are not being paid the same for doing the same jobs, come almost exactly a year after figures from the Female FTSE Board Report showed that that less than 10 per cent of executive directors in Britain are women and that there are still 15 all-male FTSE 350 boards – a startling reflection on the lack of diversity in leadership.

Pay transparency legislation, which will see every company of 250 employees or more publish their pay data by April 2018, should increasingly push these issues into the spotlight. Simply, progress has been too slow on closing the female talent pipeline and the pay gap over the past decade.

I believe there are four main proven and successful practices that could close the gap. Now it’s time to apply them.