The Mary Sue: Last month Forbes released a list of 2015’s highest-paid TV actors, and now they’ve shared their findings on the world’s highest paid TV actresses. Although the amount made by all of the actors and actresses is obviously astronomical, the results showcase the entertainment industry’s gender wage gap and lack of diversity, a problem that trickles down and impacts members of the business whose earnings are more modest.
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Ugh. I'm so tired of hearing about all this gender pay gap crap. While Sofia Vergara and Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting each make $28.5 million dollars a year before taxes (which is still a ton of money, don't get me wrong), their male counter parts like Jim Parsons makes $500,000 more which puts him in at $29 million before taxes. There's an argument floating around somewhere that females get paid less than their male counterparts in the event that they get pregnant and need to take leave. However, the other end of the coin is if that's the case, what about the females who never decide to have children or lesbians couples who are breadwinners? This idea is ridiculous, outdated and gives me an intense case of ennui. Just pay us equally, world.
Last week, I read and commented on an article about the lack of diversity and gender parity in the ranks of Oscar-nominated directors. That article noted how few women particularly women of color, had broken the ranks of critically acclaimed directors. Now, I read another article singing the same tune, this time about TV actresses. At first glance, the list seems sunnier. Sofia Vergara, a Latina, heads up the list with Kaley Cuoco, each having earned almost $29 million before taxes. Looks can be deceiving, however, as only two other women of color made the list, Kerry Washington and Mindy Kaling. Of course, there's also still gender bias, which accounts for the highest paid TV actors both making more and having more shows centered around their characters. To quote the article "...we continue to see actors out-earning actresses and landing the lead more often." The article leaves room for hope, but makes it abundantly clear that much work still needs to be done to rectify the situation.
So with the example of the two big bang theory actors, Jim Parsons and John Galecki are the stars of the show so I would actually understand why they are getting paid a bit more. And the two other male supporting actors get paid even less. I would be interested to see the salaries for the other Modern Family cast members. I think a lot of pay also has to do with the contract negotiations which I don’t think was taken into consideration when writing this article. It is a shame though, that men are still sucking up more lead roles. I also believe that no one in the world should be making that much money, men, women, whomever. The lack of diversity to make the list is pretty bleak, but it is up to producers and writers to have more shows, movies, and roles for women of color.
It’s not news that there is a discrepancy between the pay of men to women, and then another gap from women to women of color. It is nice to see Sophia Vergara at the top of the list. For me the frustration stems from how there is this constant tug of war between actual representation and the strategic representation as to maintain the look of diversity. Or, more specifically to this article, actual progression in ending the pay wage gap, or doing just the minimum as to remain below the radar, out of the line of fire because you have examples of your organization being fair. See, I do believe that this is an uphill battle and that the change will not be seen over night, or even within one year. This shouldn’t be the case, but it is. There is a cycle of women staring in a wide variety of shows, of women of all colors and sexualities directing and producing television shows. There’s no way to male the pay gap equal with the entire industry being equal opportunity. The entire playing field must be even.
While it's great that the women at the top of the list are so close to the top paid male actor, when you actually look at the lists it gets very depressing. While the males list goes steadily down from 29 million, with the top ten men all being relatively close to that, the women's list immediately goes from 28.5 mil to the third place spot of 12 mil. This really shows the disparity between men and women - the third highest paid actress still make less than the majority of the men on the list.
Yes, this inequality gap between television actors and actresses is horrible, and we should shoot for equality throughout the industry, but at the same time I think it's easy to stand up and point to an issue that is wrong without properly understanding all of the intricacies behind it. Television actors wages I'm sure aren't simple to calculate, they're dependent on viewer ratings, how the network/studio operate, and the relative stardom of the actors in question. When I read this article I was actually surprised that the relative wage gap between Kaley Cuoco,the highest-paid TV actress who made $28.5 million, and Jim Parsons, the highest-paid TV actor, who made $29 million wasn't higher. If anything this article gave me hope that we can move in the right direction because although there is a $0.5 million dollar difference in salary I think the wages in that situation are relatively fair, not because Kale Cuoco is a woman, but because I think Jim Parson's character is a more essential character in the scheme of their show. Yes, we as a entertainment practitioners should push on for equality of wages, but we should also understand that if we want to make a difference we should target sources of this inequality rather than just talk about it in broad terms where we stimulate our conversation but don't push anyone into actually bringing about real change. In this example what I find really astounding is how the actors on the Big Bang Theory are making such a ridiculous amount of money.
What I love about the incorporation of more diverse actresses into mainstream television is that most of them probably could care less about getting paid as much as they will in the coming years. To them, I am sure, it is much more important to show young women and girls - as well as young men and boys - that it is possible to be where they are, to have a voice in the media despite their lack of white, male, upper-class, cis privilege. As children, these women probably flipped channels, searched TV guides, combed magazines for women who looked and came from places like they did. Now they have the opportunity to be the role models they never had. Yes, it is disturbing that they are currently not the highest paid. Yes, there is a rift in Hollywood's payment distribution. Yes, we still have a long way to go in this respect. But diversity is about so much more than money. When Gina Rodriguez or Laverne Cox top the list, Hollywood equality activists will cheer. But the publicity they get for making that money will mean so much more to the young people watching.
This frustrates me. A lot. There is no actual reason women should be paid less than men for the same work. It doesn’t make sense. On the Big Bang Theory, Jim Parson and Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting have close to the same screen time and plot. So I don’t understand why they are not being paid the same amount. Also the fact that there is such a diversity gap reveals a larger problem in the entertainment industry. There need to be more diverse shows that include main characters of different races. That is one of the only ways to solve this issue. Once minorities have more major roles in TV and Movies, they will start to be paid more and this list will grow. The same goes for women, Although there are many roles for women in big TV shows, this still seems to be an issue. Like on Big Bang Theory, even though Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting has a main role, the show still centers around a group of men.
This article didn't come as a surprise. Men tend to have higher salaries than women, so why would that not hold true in the entertainment industry? However, this article was very short about it. It just gave the numbers of a few example of actress and actors salaries. Their are so many factors that go into how much a performer is paid, that really just looking at a few very famous TV actors and actresses does not say much. Yes, it is harder for women to get jobs as an actor than men but most of that comes down to the fact that most shows are written with more male characters than female. As well as their are more females trying to be a part of the performance industry than males. I love that the author at the end included that their should be a move to have more diverse actors and actresses in TV.
This article was really short and only touched on the issue the author was trying to point out. I know the numbers show that male actors are making more than female actors, it is a very serious issue and obviously this spans more than the entertainment field. The article does not provide a very good argument when comparing who should make more. essentially it was saying that Kaley Cuoco should make as much as Jim Parson. The reason wrongly being that she should make more not because she is more talented but because she is a woman. I believe many would agree that Jim Parson is a very talented actor and should be compensated for his talent. In my opinion i was surprised that Kaley is making that much, again not because she is a woman but because I dont think she is as talented as Parson. I think we should look at all employees as people and not judge their pay based on their race and gender. The article also touches on the fact that race is also a trend in the finances of entertainment and TV. The problem is so much deeper than that and should be addressed as such. The good news is its getting better and better every year and i hope in the near future it will be resolved.
This age-old debate raises its weary head once more! Studies like this often have glaring gaps and don't fully explain the data due to lack of research. The underlying reasons due to this wage-gap are numerous, including the number of shows which feature female leads, their work experience, rating, and a number of other factors. What is important to remember about an actress such as Sophia Vergara is that her income includes work done outside of television--she has had a leading role in a film, various nation-wide commercials, and beauty campaigns in the past year, to name a few. I think the fact that some minorities are reaching the top of the entertainment industry is a positive sign, indicating that these once ostracized groups are being folded into mainstream society and their work is given equal weight against those who at one point were considered more accepted. The diversity of characters and actors/actresses to play those roles increase every year, as audiences world wide want to see programs that push the boundaries, showing more diversity than ever before.
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