BBC must be at forefront of change on equal pay, says Tony Hall in reply to letter from more than 40 of its high-profile female stars

The BBC director general, Tony Hall, has said he hopes the BBC can close its gender pay gap sooner than 2020, after an unprecedented intervention by more than 40 of its most high-profile female stars.

Claire Balding, Newsnight presenters Emily Maitlis and Kirsty Wark and One Show host Alex Jones were among those who wrote to Hall on Sunday to demand the BBC act to correct the pay gap, coordinated by Woman’s Hour host Jane Garvey.

Figures published this week of the salaries of the BBC’s highest earners showed a huge gulf between men and women, with male and female presenters of the same programmes, such as Newsnight or Radio 4’s Today programme, on significantly different wages.

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Balding said the 2020 target given by the BBC to achieve equal pay was not good enough, given the Equal Pay Act was enacted in 1970 and the Equality Act in 2010. “We’re standing together to politely suggest they can do better,” she said.

In a letter, Hall wrote that closing the pay gap had been “a personal priority over the last four years” and pledged that both employees and the public would see a marked difference once the salaries were published again next year.

“I have committed the BBC to closing the gap by 2020 and if we can get there earlier then we will,” he wrote. “We are not, however, making a standing start. Work is already well underway across the organisation to help achieve this. There will be wider consultation meetings over the next two months so we can accelerate further change in the autumn.”

“I would obviously value your contribution and thinking as part of this process,” he went on. “When figures are published next year I am confident they will look very different. Over the next three years I want the BBC to be regarded as an exemplar on gender and diversity.”

Hall also cited improvements made over the last four years, including an increase in the number of women on local radio breakfast shows from 14% to 50% and the corporation’s aim of a 50/50 split on all presenting and lead roles by 2020.

The letter from BBC presenters, reporters and stars said the women were seeking to address the imbalance to change the system for future generations. “The pay details released in the annual report showed what many of us have suspected for many years ... that women at the BBC are being paid less than men for the same work,” it reads. “Compared to many women and men, we are very well compensated and fortunate.

“However, this is an age of equality and the BBC is an organisation that prides itself on its values. You have said that you will ‘sort’ the gender pay gap by 2020, but the BBC has known about the pay disparity for years. We all want to go on the record to call upon you to act now.”

Other stars who have signed the letter include Today presenters Mishal Husain and Sarah Montague, Wimbledon host Sue Barker, newsreader Fiona Bruce, 5 Live presenter Emma Barnett and Europe editor Katya Adler.

The Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, said the BBC needed to “look very hard at itself” after the pay gap revelations, which showed former Top Gear presenter Chris Evans took home more than £2m while its highest-paid female star, Claudia Winkleman, received £450,000-£499,999.

The education secretary, Justine Greening, who is also equalities minister, told Sophy Ridge on Sunday on Sky News it was impossible not to be shocked by the gulf that existed between the highest-paid women and men at the BBC and said it was justification for requiring the BBC to release its salary details.

“I think it has already kicked off a debate for the BBC about these differentials and the steps they will now need to look at taking to close them, but it is very hard to justify some of the big gaps that we saw,” Greening said.

Tony Hall’s letter to BBC women in full