This Open Letter Demanding Equal Pay in Hollywood Has More Than 3,000 Signatures
The wage gap in Hollywood has been an especially hot topic in recent months, with high-profile stars like Claire Foy and Ellen Pompeo revealing that they hadn't received equal pay to their male counterparts—and demanding change. Now, there's a budding movement—one carrying the support of many high-profile actors and directors—to address the wage gap between the men and women who work behind the scenes.
More than 3,000 Hollywood figures have signed an open letter that denounces "egregious" wage inequalities between men and women holding jobs in production, such as script supervisors, production coordinators, and art department coordinators. Many familiar names have put their signatures on the letter so far, including A Wrinkle in Time director Ava DuVernay, This Is Us actress Chrissy Metz, and Book Club actress Jane Fonda.
The letter was written after a recent study by Working Ideal for IATSE Local 871 (a union with members who "keep Hollywood running") revealed that women in crew or production positions receive significantly less pay than men in similar positions.
According to the study, women in craft roles are "paid hundreds or even thousands of dollars per week less than counterparts in comparable male-dominated crafts, even though California’s Fair Pay Act generally requires equal pay for men and women performing substantially similar work and federal law bars gender discrimination in pay." The findings have the support of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Women in Film organization, according to the Los Angeles Times.
"It is time for real change. It is no longer acceptable for employees in traditionally female-dominated classifications - like Art Department Coordinators and Assistant Production Coordinators - to be stuck with low wages that oftentimes make it difficult to make ends meet, especially in expensive cities like Los Angeles," the letter reads. "Nor is it acceptable that – despite the recent changes in state law aimed at closing the wage gap - women (and men) employed in other historically female crafts earn significantly less than their predominantly male counterparts, such as 2nd Second Assistant Directors, while performing substantially similar work."
The numbers back up these claims: According to the study, women working in positions like a script supervisors earned a weekly rate of of $2,573 in 2016, while men in an equivalent first assistant director position earned $4,465. (The two positions have different responsibilities but are on roughly the same level in the industry.)
The letter references the #MeToo and Time's Up movements as catalysts to extend equal pay from marquee names to every member of a film's set.
"In the current age of #MeToo and the launching of Time's Up we have seen that some production companies have moved to correct gender-based wage inequality for actors working on the same projects, but there has not been any similar effort made to address wage gaps for those working behind the scenes," the letter continues. "With your help we can demonstrate that this issue has the support of our fellow industry members and the viewing audience at large."
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