Day puts spotlight on wage disparity

‘Unhappy Hour’ makes point with drink prices

Brooke Malone was only 20 years old when she said she experienced “the gender wage gap”: earning less money for equal work when compared to a male co-worker.

Malone, who lives in Las Vegas, had been with the company, a fundraising consulting firm, for close to two years. She had worked her way up from working the phones to supervising employees. During that time she said she also trained three male employees for assistant supervisor positions.

“Then I found out soon after they made 33 percent to 40 percent more than I did,” Malone, now 27, said.

When she approached her boss about the disparity, “they gave me excuses, like they were waiting for my review.”

They also told her that the three men had families that they needed to support. But Malone had others to support, too: She had a 2-year-old son at home.

After a few days of discussion, Malone succeeded in having her review moved up, which resulted in receiving equal pay. And she learned a life lesson.

“Moving forward, no matter the position, I always look at what the competitive salary is,” Malone said.

But America’s women are losing out on $900 billion every year compared to their male counterparts, according to a report released this month by the Washington, D.C.based National Partnership for Women and Families.

The report came in advance of Equal Pay Day on Tuesday, which symbolizes how much longer a woman must work to earn what men earned the previous year.

According to the study, women in the U.S. earn 80 cents for every dollar paid to men. A woman earns about $41,554 a year working full time, while a man averages $51,640.

The reported ranked Nevada 30 out of 51 when it comes to the wage gap: Women earn about 81 percents per dollar, on average. In the lowest

UNEQUAL PAY

video and independent filmmakers looking for new ways to make money, Debevoise said.

Carolyn Scott-hamilton, host of the online series “The Healthy Voyager,” said that 12 years after her start in travel entertainment, less expensive and lighter equipment have lowered the cost barrier to growing an audience.

“Drones and phones are really changing the landscape,” Scott-hamilton said.

As an online personality with an audience watching her for vegan food recommendations, she’s learned what her audience likes and

doesn’t like her to share on different websites.

She’s learned that telling people about her experiences on some websites has been more effective than reviewing physical items.

For businesses that approach her about showcasing a trip on her accounts, she sometimes must talk them out of a preconceived plan if she thinks the content she’ll post, the amount of times she’ll post and where she’ll post would annoy her audience.

“I’d rather not have the money than ruin a relationship with a brand,” she said. “It’s important for both sides to be honest.”

VR growth

Entertainment attorney Philip

Daniels said contracts between online personalities and travel businesses have gotten so specific they mandate a certain number of posts to Facebook or Youtube.

The panelists said they foresee virtual reality emerging as a way to sell people on booking a destination.

At a 2017 event, representatives of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority showed programs for their Las Vegas-themed virtual reality app meant to sell the valley as a tourism destination.

“We’re just at the beginning,” DeBevoise said.

Contact Wade Tyler Millward at wmillward@reviewjournal. com or 702-383-4602. Follow @ wademillward on Twitter.