At one point males seemed to dominate everything. However, as women began to fight for equal rights, it seems things have changed.
As time will indicate, wage discrimination has historically favored men over similarly qualified women. Even in Hollywood, there seems to be an imbalance among actors and actresses.
While on the surface it appears Hollywood adores their starlets, when you compare a woman’s paycheck to a man’s, you’ll see that women are often underpaid in comparison to their male counterparts.
Women such as Marilyn Monroe, Jennifer Lawrence, Mehgan Fox, Halle Berry and many more are idolized iconic actresses. Lawrence, who is the highest paid actress in Hollywood, brought in an impressive $52 million last year. On the flip side, Robert Downey Jr., Hollywood’s highest paid actor, brought in $80 million.
Back in October Lawrence addressed the wage gap. “When the Sony hack happened and I found out how much less I was being paid than the lucky people with dicks, I didn’t get mad at Sony,” she wrote in an essay. “I got mad at myself…I failed as a negotiator because I gave up early.”
Julia Roberts backed Lawrence. “I applaud her,” Roberts told Good Morning America. “She’s a young, fabulous, talented whippersnapper and I love that she’s stirring things up.”
Earlier this year, Stacey Dash blamed women for their low pay. “I feel like it’s an excuse. It’s the same thing with race. It’s an excuse. Stop making excuses,” the “Clueless” actress said while appearing as a guest on The Meredith Vieira Show. “If there are opportunities, seize them and be prepared for them, and be the best, if that’s what it takes. If you have to be extraordinary, then be extraordinary.”
Stacey Dash’s comments didn’t sit well with the host who responded with facts and figures. “I feel like we’re fighting an uphill battle. When you look at just the numbers, we make 78 cents for every dollar that a man makes. At the rate we’re going, my daughter, who’s 22, will be 65 when there’s finally pay equality.” Vieira went on to say, “There’s something wrong, something clearly wrong. I don’t know that it’s just us not taking responsibility. We’re not given the opportunity.”
According to Forbes, Diane Keaton did not receive back-end pay for her star role in Something’s Gotta Give, while Jack Nicholson did. Even after three Oscar wins, Meryl Streep says she gets paid less than her male co-stars. The wage gap isn’t only present on screen either, women are grossly underpaid and under represented behind the scenes as well.
While this is being discussed in the context of the film industry, there’s no question that gender inequality still exists across the board, especially in corporate America.
What are your thoughts?
Source: Forbes
