The pay inequality between men and women on both sides of the Atlantic is a topic that is hotly debated on both sides of the Atlantic. The pay of those who work in the television and film industry in both the United States and the UK has come into the limelight and is an issue in which both the media and the public have taken a keen interest. The main point of contention is the significant difference between the pay of black women and white men on television in America.
Black Women’s Equal Pay Day was celebrated on July 31 this year. The purpose of this day is to recognize and raise awareness of the fact that, on average, a black woman must work an extra seven months to earn as much as her white male counterparts. This year, Twitter trolls sent tweets claiming that it was unnecessary to point out the inequality.
In retaliation, actress Yvette Nicole Brown highlighted her own experiences. She said that she had found out that a white male guest on a series in which she was appearing earned just under what she had earned as a series regular. Brown is best-known for her roles in TV series such as ‘Community’, ‘Drake & Josh’, ‘Pound Puppies’, and ‘The Odd Couple’. However, she refuses to name which show she was working on when she received unequal pay. While some people may be shocked by her experience, she is not alone in learning she is paid unfairly.
What TV and film stars earn is something that is often gossiped about but it is now an issue that people are talking about openly. It has now become a hot topic of discussion amongst the public due to the increased attention the media is giving to this issue. This attention is putting an increasing amount of pressure on TV networks and studios to look at the issue and put effort into developing greater diversity and inclusion policies that ensure there is equal pay amongst the sexes and regardless of race, culture, ethnicity, or religion.
There are situations when women working in television have fought to receive equal pay and won. A perfect example of this is Emmy Rossum, the actress who starred in ‘Shameless’. Her aim was to earn the same amount as her co-star, William H. Macy. She successfully negotiated a deal that meant she would earn the same amount for the 8th season of the show. However, not all actresses are this successful in achieving the same pay as their male co-stars.
The male stars of ‘The Big Bang Theory’ earn a whopping $1 million per episode of the show. Mayim Bialik and Melissa Rauch fought to achieve the same pay. They were unsuccessful in this bid and finalized a deal with Warner Brothers in April 2017 that meant they will earn $500,000. Another example is the incident involving actors in ‘Hawaii Five-0′. Grace Park and Daniel Dae Kim, who are both from Korean heritage, asked CBS to pay them the same amount as white male stars Scott Caan and Alex O’Loughlin. CBS opted instead to allow the pair to walk away from their contract rather than match their pay demands.
One reason given for the lower pay of black women in television is the lack of demand as there are more roles available for white men. For this reason, there are very few increases from the fees demanded by their agents. The statistics for this are interesting. While 51% of the U.S. population is female, only 44% of characters in primetime TV series are women. Similarly, only 20% of regulars are black and 38% of this figure are black women.
Although inequality is something that is a long-time issue, there is one thing that has recently changed in the TV and film industry. That is that women are now speaking up about the inequality and saying they want things to change. In fact, some women are now turning down roles if they discover that men are being paid more for less work as they feel it is now time to make a stand. Only by doing so will they see a change in this situation and achieve equal pay.
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