Carrie Gracie
““Equal tells a personal story that changed the public debate.””
Carrie grew up in Aberdeenshire and set up a restaurant on Deeside before taking a degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Oxford University. She taught in two Chinese universities, built a small film business and joined the BBC in 1987 as a trainee producer.
Throughout the 1990s she served in China, as Beijing correspondent and then bureau chief. In 2000 she returned to London to become a presenter, anchoring the BBC News Channel and hosting the weekly BBC World Service programme The Interview. In 2014, she took up a newly created post as BBC China editor and covered all key news stories in mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. She made many documentaries about China for BBC TV and Radio, her work winning prizes including a Peabody and an Emmy. Her academic qualifications include degrees in Mandarin Chinese and Interactive Media.
In 2018, Carrie left her post as BBC China editor in protest at unequal pay, publishing an open letter to BBC audiences and appearing before a parliamentary select committee. She eventually won her battle, donating her BBC back pay to a charity supporting other women fighting unequal pay. In 2019 she published her first book Equal: How We Fix The Gender Pay Gap and in 2020 she left broadcasting to pursue other projects.
Published works
