By Christina Terrell
When it comes to Hollywood stars, most people don’t see money as an issue for anyone – male or female. But what some people do not realize is that in today’s celebrity-focused world, women suffer from the biggest wage gape of all. These women come from different cultures and have varying ages and backgrounds, but that doesn’t matter to the entertainment industry.
In Net-A-Porter’s third annual Women in Television issue, four very well-known and talented female actresses gather to discuss why actresses don’t talk about their worth – and to talk about how they can use their voices to empower one another. These four women include Ellen Pompeo, Emma Roberts, Gabrielle Union, and Gina Rodriquez. Each of these women have held very memorable roles on the television screen. For example, you may know Ellen Pompeo from the hit show Gray’s Anatomy. In the YouTube video, she touches on her experiences with co-stars and crew members from the show, and how she found out that they were not getting paid equally, but still putting in the same amount of work as she was. For this very reason, Pompeo witnessed her hairdresser walk off set in the middle of shooting.
“I’m battling every day.”
Ellen Pompeo
This television debate also touches on some other reasons as to why women in the film industry suffer from such a big wage gap. The talented actresses say that they have experienced cultural discrimination, not just gender-based, and have not been paid equally or allowed to participate in certain projects. Gina Rodriguez, for example, speaks from her experiences and tells viewers how she has taken a job before where she later found out that someone before her was offered the same role, but for much more money. Rodriguez went to the directors of the project and asked for that same amount and was told no. She said that the personally felt as though the people working on the project did not see her as valuable and felt that she could easily be replaced.
“Growing up as a Latina in the United States, I didn’t see us portrayed positively on TV.”
Gina Rodriguez
Throughout the Net-A-Porter video, these gifted actresses go on to share many more experiences that they have had in Hollywood. They also debate ways in which this can be overcome, and share valuable tips about how to empower one another as females working in the entertainment industry.