Actresses paid less in Hollywood than male actors

THE Oscars ignited a firestorm yesterday about pay equality. Even the privileged halls of Hollywood are not immune, as Jennifer Lawrence found out the hard way.

WHEN Patricia Arquette won the Best Supporting Actress yesterday, she gave a rousing speech about wage equality.

“To every woman who gave birth, to every taxpayer and citizen of this nation, we have fought for everybody else’s equal rights. It’s our time to have wage equality once and for all and equal rights for women in the United States of America.”

It had Meryl Streep and Jennifer Lopez pumped up.

She may have been talking about the US specifically, but in Australia, the wage gap between men and women stands at 18.2 per cent, the worst since 1994, when data was first collected.

Arquette’s speech was meant to be a clarion call.

It was also a spotlight on the fact that even one of the most privileged industries in the world is not immune from pay inequality.

The issue came to a head late last year when the hacked Sony emails revealed top Hollywood actresses were getting paid significantly less than their male counterparts. The most high profile revelation was five-time Oscar nominee Amy Adams and Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence were being paid more than 20 per cent less than male stars Bradley Cooper, Christian Bale and Jeremy Renner on American Hustle.

Amy Adams and Jennifer Lawrence were paid less than their male stars.

Specifically, the emails referred to “points”, which means compensation based on how financially successful a film becomes. The three male leads were to be paid nine points while Adams and Lawrence were given seven points. Lawrence was originally at five before her people asked for more.

After the emails were made public, Charlize Theron reportedly negotiated a deal for The Huntsman prequel that would see her paid $US10 million — the same as male co-star Chris Hemsworth.

Charlize Theron demanded equal pay after the Sony leaked emails.

The problem is widespread. According to a study from the Journal of Management Inquiry, as reported in Variety, actresses earn more than actors in their twenties, but peak at 34-years-old. After that, women’s salaries plummet. Meanwhile, male actors peak at 51-years-old and see a less dramatic decline after that.

Forbes’ 2013 list of the top 10 highest-paid actresses (of which, Jennifer Lawrence is second) found they collectively earned $US181 million, which is paltry compared to the 10 highest-paid male actors who netted $US465 million.

Patricia Arquette’s speech comes at a time when women are still paid less than men.

Amy Pascal, the former Sony Studios boss who was sacked over the hacking affair, defended the decision to pay her female actors less. At the Re/code conference, she said: “I run a business. People want to work for less money, I’ll pay them less money. I don’t call them up and go, can I give you some more?”

But she then went on to say that women shouldn’t work for less money and should be prepared to walk away. “People shouldn’t be so grateful for jobs.”