This sexist column is proof that misogyny is very much alive in the media

A male journalist who penned a sexist, anti-semitic column attempting to justify the BBC's gender pay gap has succeeded in highlighting the misogyny and bigotry at the heart of the industry's problem.

In the article, entitled "Sorry, ladies — equal pay has to be earned," Sunday Times Ireland columnist Kevin Myers stated that women paid less than their male colleagues deserved it because they don't work as hard as men. Myers made egregious anti-semitic remarks about two of the BBC's best-paid female presenters, Claudia Winkleman and Vanessa Feltz, suggesting it was no coincidence that both women are Jewish.

The fact that this misogynistic, racist diatribe was even published only serves to highlight the deep-rooted sexism faced by women working in the media. It is troubling that in 2017 editors of an establishment newspaper would pay Myers for his comments justifying pay inequality in the media, while women in that same industry are fighting to be paid the same as their male counterparts.

Myers stated that only one woman is among the BBC's top 10 best-paid presenters because men are "more charismatic performers," "they work harder," and because "they are more driven." "The human resources department [...] will probably tell you that men usually work harder, get sick less frequently and seldom get pregnant," Myers continued. "And ask yourself. How many women are billionaires? Chess grandmasters? Mathematicians? There's a connection. Mastery of money usually requires singular drive, ruthless logic and instant, arctic-cold arithmetic," Myers said.

The vitriolic article was swiftly deleted from the Sunday Times website, and a statement issued by Frank Fitzgibbon, the editor of the Irish edition, apologising "for the offence caused" and taking "full responsibility for this error of judgement". "This newspaper abhors anti-semitism and did not intend to cause offence to Jewish people," Fitzgibbon said. It was only when the newspaper issued a second follow-up statement later that day -- to confirm that Myers had been sacked -- that there was any mention of what Myers said about "women in the workplace".

While much outrage has rightly been directed at Myers for his heinous remarks, it cannot be ignored that several editors were involved in the commissioning, sub-editing and publication of this piece. The fact that the editors of a national newspaper deemed Myers' sexist and racist invective fit for publication and appropriate for public consumption is deeply alarming.

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Angela Phillips -- professor of journalism at Goldsmiths, University of London -- says the fact this column was published in print makes it hard to see how it could have "escaped editorial oversight". "An editor will have commissioned it and read it on submission. It will then have been passed onto a sub-editor to add headlines, organise pull quotes and if necessary cut to length," says Phillips.

A spokesperson for the Press Council of Ireland said it's "impossible" at this stage to say whether the article contravened the principles of its Code of Practice, which says the press should not publish material that could cause offence to people on the basis of their "race, religion" and "gender". It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that this piece clearly was offensive on all of those grounds.

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Given that the gender pay gap in the UK stands at 18.1 percent, and the pay gap in the journalism industry is 7.2 percent, Myers' flippant remarks are highly frustrating to women whose salaries are tangibly affected by gender discrimination.

This article was a swipe at women working in the media -- who rightfully should be paid the same as their male colleagues -- and attempt to undermine women in all workplaces. Publishing these words makes the editors complicit in a persistent, harmful narrative that perpetuates the belief that the pay gap either doesn't exist, or is completely justified because women are somehow inferior to men.

Note to editors: don't be part of the problem.