Gender Inequality in Hollywood
It is easy to think that celebrities have it easy, but the reality is that for female stars they face many of the same gender inequality issues that ordinary women face. Sexism is very much alive and well in Hollywood. Studies conducted in 2015 suggest that there are still only a small number of movies revolve around a female protagonist and even fewer have female directors and producers leading them. Almost alleged areas of filmmaking have an incredibly low percentage of women involved. In addition to this, a large number of female actors have actually been paid less than their male co-stars. There are now a growing number if women in Hollywood who are speaking out about gender inequality in the industry.
One of the most vocal actresses to have spoken out about gender inequality is Jennifer Lawrence. When Sony was hacked in 2014 one of the leaked emails revealed that Jennifer Lawrence had received significantly less for the movie ‘American Hustle’ than what her male co-stars made. This was in spite of her being the biggest box office draw thanks to her role in the blockbuster ‘Hunger Games’ franchise. Lawrence was not at all happy and in October 2015 she published an essay discussing the Hollywood gender wage gap. In her essay she admitted the fact that with two major movie franchises to her name she is not exactly short of cash, but pointed out that the issue wasn’t about her personally, but the fact that women everywhere are being paid less than men doing exactly the same jobs. After all, if the highest paid actress of 2014 is still making less than two thirds of what her male counterpart Robert Downey Junior, then what hope do ordinary women in the workforce have? In her essay, Lawrence said that a portion of the blame did reside with her because in her words she had ‘failed as a negotiator’ something that she attributes to being concerned about being labeled as difficult or spoiled as many women in Hollywood are when they speak up about such things.
Money isn’t the only gender inequality being discussed in Hollywood at the moment. Maggie Gyllenhal recently shone a spotlight on the fact that men and women are treated very differently in Hollywood when it comes to age. She recounted tale of being rejected fir a role on the basis that at 37, she was far too old to be the love interest of the 55 year old star! Gyllenhaal says that she felt sad at first and then she was just really angry. Anne Hathaway says that she is also experiencing this since Hollywood has a real problem with women over the age of 25. At 32, Hathaway says she is losing out on age appropriate roles as they are being handed to younger actresses -although she admits to having benefited from this when she was younger.
It isn’t only female stars who are uncomfortable with gender inequality, recently stepped in and fielded sexist questions being directed at his ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ co-star Scarlett Johansson. He has also publicly stated that there should be more action figures and other merchandise that include her Black Widow character, In addition, when Jennifer Lawrence published her essay her American Hustle co-star Bradley Cooper and her male director supported her as did her male Hunger Games co-stars.
In conclusion, it is clear that gender equality exists in Hollywood just as it does in the rest of the world. However, a growing number of stars both male and female are speaking out about these issues, Hopefully this will prompt ordinary women to speak out too so that gender equality can one day be eliminated.