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decades of work to narrow the gender pay gap PDF

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Added on  2022-01-25

decades of work to narrow the gender pay gap PDF

   Added on 2022-01-25

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Introduction:
Despite decades of work to narrow the gender pay gap, americans continue to face a significant salary
disadvantage. Per each dollar of income by a man, women in the United States get an average yearly
pay disparity of $10,194," according to statistics from the US Census Bureau (Roepe 4). Although the
2018 World Economic Forum research forecasted that it will take 208 years to achieve equal pay for
women and men, if regulations do not change (Roepe 4). The gender wage disparity impacts many
sectors, and regrettably, Hollywood is not an aberration to this rule.
Hollywood when talking about genders:
The brutal reality of low - income and minority and overworked female actors and actresses lies beyond
Hollywood's glamour and elegance. It has been shown that women earn $1.1 million less per year than
male performers of comparable experience and stature (Sanchez). Several well-known actresses have
recently come out to speak out against the gender pay disparity in Hollywood and call for reform. SAG-
AFTRA or the Screen Performers Guild should implement a policy forcing managers and studios to
provide pay transparency for all actors in order to narrow this discrepancy.
During the 2017 film All the Money in the World reshoots, it was discovered that Mark Wahlberg got
$1.5 million while his co-star Michelle Williams earned less than $1,000. This sparked a current
discussion about the gender pay disparity in Hollywood. Williams' compensation was just $650,000, but
Wahlberg's was $5 million.
There was an uproar from the general public and other actresses who felt cheated by the studio over
this. As a consequence, Wahlberg contributed $1.5 million to Time's Up, an anti-sexual harassment
campaign spearheaded by women in the entertainment industry. As if this wasn't bad enough, both
actors work for the same agency.
This shows that the female salary difference in Hollywood is not just due to representation and
performance, but also to the industry's image. As a four-time Oscar nominee (Desta), Wahlberg was
utilized to entice viewers to see All the Money in the World, while Williams was marketed as Oscar bait.
However, neither actor received a salary to reflect their roles as Oscar bait. Behind closed doors, the
reputation is what matters most in this business.
It is common knowledge that male actors like Wahlberg (known as a "tough negotiator") bargain their
salary, whereas female performers prefer to accept their salaries in fear of being dubbed sexist,
stereotyped word "diva" or "difficult," which might result in a lack of work offers. Contrary to popular
belief, the gender pay gap is not the result of a lack of negotiating tenacity on the part of women;
rather, it is the result of studios underpaying their female employees.
Pay transparency would allow actors and actresses to see the salary of their co-stars, putting pressure
on production companies to pay their actors and actresses on an equal basis. With no fear of judgment,
actors would be able to bargain more easily. An equitable pay solution may be found in the industry's
readiness and openness to talk money.
Four years before, Jennifer Lawrence had a similar experience with the Hollywood gender salary
disparity, much like Mark Wahlberg and Kerry Washington. At $52 million, Lawrence became the world's
decades of work to narrow the gender pay gap PDF_1
highest-paid actress in 2015. (Berg). However, Robert Downey Jr., the year's highest-paid actor, raked
home an impressive $80 million (Berg).
After the Sony Pictures breach in 2014, this compensation disparity was no longer a secret to Lawrence.
According to leaked emails, Lawrence and her co-star Amy Adams only earned a 7% share of the 2013
film American Hustle's revenues, while Bradley Cooper, Christian Bale, and Jeremy Renner each received
a 9% piece (Berg). Lawrence and Adams were in the same boat as their male counterparts when it came
to awards show bait and box office draw, but they earned much less.
By enabling other actresses to share their tales, Lawrence was a catalyst for the discussion and a source
of inspiration. According to her, "I didn't become furious at Sony when the Sony breach occurred and I
found out how much less I got paid than the fortunate individuals." I was enraged with myself" (Staff).
In Hollywood, there is a recurring stereotype of docile women who prefer to remain mute rather than
fight for their value. It's clear that Hollywood is to blame for the lack of female protagonists in many of
its films. "I failed as a negotiator because I gave up early," Lawrence said, taking full responsibility for his
actions. Finally, "I didn't want to look 'difficult' or'spoiled,'" she said. At first, it sounded like a good idea,
but when I checked the paycheck online, I found that none of the men I worked with were concerned
about being "difficult" or "spoiled" (Staff).
Actors' salaries are decided during wage negotiations. Companies such as Sony Pictures should provide
pay transparency to close the wage gap and make it easier for movie stars to bargain for higher incomes
since they can see what their co-stars make.
There have been a number of actresses who have spoken out about their own experiences as a
consequence of Lawrence's article in 2015. "You were considered ungrateful, you were considered
entitled, so I think it's great that women today are saying 'we're going to speak about this,'" Paltrow
agreed with Lawrence on the challenge of standing up for one's worth. This isn’t fair’”.
While Jack Nicholson received "back-end money" for his performance in Something's Gotta Give, Diane
Keaton didn't, according to the actress (Staff). Back-end money is often paid to actors after a film's
release in order to recognize their "star-power" on the project. Similarly with Lawrence and Adams,
Keaton was anticipated to get a quantity of back-end income, but did not take priority over her male co-
star.
In a 2017 interview in Out Magazine with Emma Stone, Andrea Riseborough & Billie Jean King about
equality, Stone explains her experience with equal pay as female actress:
My male co-stars have taken a pay reduction in order for me to have equal compensation with them in
my career so far." And they do it for me because they believe it's proper and equitable to do so. We
don't talk about the fact that in order for us to get equal pay, others will have to selflessly declare:
"That's what's fair." "My life will be changed forever if the male co-star who has a higher quotation than
me but feels we are equal, takes a pay reduction to make me pay him what he wants to" (Out Magazine
Editors).
In order to recruit a certain actor, this "quote" must be met. Because male actors get to star in more
franchises and blockbuster hits, they tend to have greater quotes than female performers, which feeds
into the salary discrepancy that exists between male and female actors. Thus, men actors must help
decades of work to narrow the gender pay gap PDF_2

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