Yesterday, Inc ran an article titled “Why Are CEOs Criticized for Income Inequality While Hollywood Actors Seem to Get a Pass?” It’s an excellent question, asked by and answered by Quora users. The answer focused on two things: Big named stars don’t handle compensation for other people and Hollywood has huge pay inequity problems that stars are working to fix.
Both of these are true. But, there are few things that should be considered when making these arguments that big stars should have no culpability for bad pay in Hollywood, and I think it’s time to be addressed.
Stars Aren’t Like CEOs: They Have More Power
Jennifer Lawrence wrote a famous letter about gender pay inequalities in Hollywood but what she didn’t address was as the other pay inequalities. You know, how many interns are unpaid, and costume designers are making $25,000 a year, and lots of jobs are per diem which mean no benefits, and no guarantees of jobs tomorrow.
To keep reading, click here: Why Hollywood Stars Shouldn’t Get a Pass on Pay Inequities
Seems like an inapt comparison. Movie stars aren’t comparable to CEOs making $150,000.00; they are comparable to Wall Street CEOs. And female movie stars don’t decide the compensation for others working on the movie; they have their own battle, seeking more equitable pay, compared to their male co-stars. The CEOs responsible for the pay inequities in Hollywood are the CEOs involved in the making of the movies.