Actresses of color band together for equal pay
They share salaries, boost one another
LOS ANGELES — Actresses of color are getting more roles and acclaim, but not commensurate money. Recognizing that achieving change isn’t a solo act, they looked for help — and found it in each other.
Giving colleagues a peek at their paychecks, speaking out about economic disparity and using hard-won success to boost others are among the measures slowly gaining traction in an industry where most actors are hunting for their next freelance job and women of color face entrenched barriers.
“One of the first things we say is, ‘Find out what the people around you are making,’” said entertainment lawyer Nina Shaw, a founding member of Times
Up, the organization created in 2018 to fight sexual misconduct and workplace inequality. “And more and more, we’re finding that people are willing to talk to each other.”
Without knowledge of what other actors with a similar track record are getting for equivalent work, “you are way behind the eight ball,” said Gabrielle Union (“Think Like a Man,” ”Being Mary Jane”).
Changing entrenched behavior takes time, Union said, but “little by little we’re communicating, and women of color, specifically black women, are like, ‘Oh, hell nah.’ We are so woefully underpaid, underappreciated, disrespected.”
Ana de la Reguera (“Power,” upcoming film “Army of the Dead”) saw the value of networking as part of “Latinas Who Lunch,” an informal group started by Eva Longoria. Actresses, as well as writers and directors, gathered to share their experiences and job and career building tips.
“We were actually encouraging each other to, say, shadow (observe) a director, ask to direct an episode, ask to be the executive producer,” de la Reguera said. The #Metoo movement consumed their attention last year, but she continues advising women oneon-one as they learn to navigate Hollywood’s intricate system, which she said is more challenging than the still-growing industry in her native Mexico.
What performers earn is difficult to verify, say researchers who track film and TV employment. Privacy concerns are one obvious reason, as are the complex deals that include compensation for acting and other work (as with HBO’S
“Big Little Lies,” which Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman starred in and produced).
In the latest San Diego State University analysis of TV’S broadcast, cable and streaming programs, women had 40 percent of the speaking roles while men had 60 percent in 2017-18 despite the genders being evenly split in the population. Further limiting opportunities for women of color: 67 percent of all female roles went to white actresses, the study found. That exceeds the almost 61 percent they represent among U.S. women.
Asked if industry racism is at play, Union, who won a contract dispute with media giant Viacomowned BET over her series “Being Mary Jane,” had a ready reply.
“Based on the numbers that I know that black women, Latinas, Asian women, indigenous actors are making, there is no other logical reason why we are paid what we are paid versus what our contemporaries are paid who are lacking melanin,” she said.
“Everybody knows there is racism, there is sexism …. it all exists,” Jennifer Lopez said. “It’s just about us getting to the point of you realizing what you’re worth and who you are,” she said.