BBC REPORTER Martha Kearney has admitted the “horrible and humiliating” sexually harassment she suffered as a reporter in her 20s.
The Dubin-born presenter of BBC Radio 4's Today programme and the documentary series Great Irish Journeys revealed to the Radio Times that men "touched her bottom" while she was an LBC Westminster correspondent in the 1980s.
"I didn’t complain. It was the world of work, the rough and tumble of the newsroom," she said.
“I wish I’d felt stronger, less intimidated. But in my 20s bosses were powerful people.”
The young women I work with at Today have zero tolerance. I hope #MeToo will make a difference," she added.
Kearney also said in the candid interview that it was time to see whether the BBC will honour their promises on equal pay.
Last year a report found men working for the BBC earned an average of 9.3 per cent more than women.
"There was anger and shock when the pay figures came out," Kearney, who swapped roles with Sarah Montague on World at One in March, said.
"Now the BBC is moving in the right direction, but the pace may not be as fast as we'd like."
Kearney was born in Dublin but grew up in Sussex and Edinburgh as her historian father was offered roles at several British universities.
