OPEN LETTER FOR REEL EQUITY
The Entertainment Industry
TAKE ACTION
Tell the entertainment industry that you support members of historically female crafts in their demand for PAY EQUITY by signing your name to the attached Open Letter to the Entertainment Industry.
A just-released study shows that there is an egregious wage gap for historically female-majority crafts including Production Coordinators, Assistant Production Coordinators, Art Department Coordinators and Script Supervisors, that needs to be brought to the attention of those in positions of power in order to remedy this inequity.
While our positions are central to a production running smoothly and being kept on track, we are not paid on par with our counterparts on the crew. In fact, the scale rates for Art Department Coordinators and Assistant Production Coordinators are barely above minimum wage.
In the current age of #MeToo and the launching of Times Up we have seen that some production companies have moved to correct gender-based wage inequality for actors working on the same projects, but there has not been any similar effort made to address wage gaps for those working behind the scenes.
With your help we can demonstrate that this issue has the support of our fellow industry members and the viewing audience at large. We will be delivering this letter to the heads of major studios, networks and production companies as we push them to address this issue.
For more information, please visit ReelEquity.org.
**If viewing on a mobile device, be sure to scroll to the bottom to sign! **
Sponsored by
To:
The Entertainment Industry
From:
[Your Name]
A Call for #ReelEquity: Combat Gender Pay Bias in Hollywood
With pay equity and sexual harassment dominating the news, from the momentum of the #MeToo movement and the launch of TimesUp, to winning major concessions on closing the pay gap in state legislatures and corporate boardrooms, the time has come to take a hard look at how our industry compensates the many thousands of people who work below the line and insist on meaningful changes.
Background
In 2016, the California Fair Pay Act took effect, changing state law to prohibit employers from paying women less than they pay men for “substantially similar work.” Nonetheless, a recent study commissioned by IATSE Local 871, a union representing over 2,500 production employees found that significant gender-based wage disparities continue to exist among workers in below-the-line occupations. The study identifies gender stereotyping, job segregation, and sexual harassment as factors contributing to gender pay inequality for below-the-line employees.
Additionally, an astonishing 52% of women surveyed said they had witnessed or experienced sexual harassment at work in the last three years alone. Significantly, even though this data was compiled before the explosion of revelations about sexual harassment in the industry that began in late 2017, it shines a light on the deep connection between the gender pay gap and other forms of workplace injustice facing women in Hollywood and beyond.
It is time for real change. It is no longer acceptable for employees in traditionally female-dominated classifications - like Art Department Coordinators and Assistant Production Coordinators - to be stuck with low wages that oftentimes make it difficult to make ends meet, especially in expensive cities like Los Angeles. Nor is it acceptable that – despite the recent changes in state law aimed at closing the wage gap - women (and men) employed in other historically female crafts earn significantly less than their predominantly male counterparts, such as 2nd Second Assistant Directors, while performing substantially similar work.
Finally, it is neither fair nor acceptable that the industry continues using discriminatory wage structures that consistently undervalue the work done by hard-working women (and men) employed in historically female classifications, such as Script Supervisors, ignoring the crucial role that they play in production, especially in light of technological changes that continue to make these jobs more complex. Moreover, by reducing women’s economic security and power, the persistent gender pay gap in our industry makes it harder for women to challenge the harassing and abusive behavior that the #MeToo movement and the launch of Times Up have brought to public light.
Action Now
It’s time for the Entertainment Industry to take a hard look at its pay and compensation practices above and below the line to make sure all productions meet the legal -- and moral -- requirement to pay fairly without discrimination.
We urge the Entertainment Industry to address the pay inequality facing women today in historically female-dominated positions in production by:
1. Committing to conduct a comprehensive study of gender disparities in wages that would also examine other measures of diversity, inclusion and equity in the industry with the goal of implementing changes to address the inequities and gaps identified,
2. Applying an Equity Yardstick to make sure the wages on individual productions are fair to women and to other underrepresented groups across crafts and departments, based on parity between substantially similar positions and proportionality within/across departments,
3. Calling on talent and directors to request Equity Riders, similar to Inclusion Riders, that commit productions to pay equity both above and below the line.
The time is now! We must work together to end gender pay bias and sexual harassment in the Entertainment Industry.
Launched by the ReelEquity Coalition, which was founded by IATSE Local 871.
Endorsed By:
ORGANIZATIONS:
5050by2020
ACLU
ACLU Southern California
American Association of University Women
ARRAY Alliance
Equal Pay Today!
Equal Rights Advocates
Free the Bid
IATSE Local 871
National Partnership for Women and Families
National Women’s Law Center
TimesUp
The Representation Project
Women and Hollywood
Women in Film
Women in Media
Women Occupy Hollywood
COMPANIES:
Okay Goodnight!
Topple Productions
INDIVIDUALS INCLUDING:
Isaac Aptaker
Rosanna Arquette
Jamie Babbit
Adam Belanoff
Claire Beitcher
Kristen Bell
Stacey K. Black
Rachel Bloom
Steve Bloom
Doug Boney, IATSE Locals 884, 871
Paget Brewster
Ed Brown, IATSE Local 44
Sterling K. Brown
Alan Caudillo
Don Cheadle
John P. Connolly, AFTRA President 2000-2007; Executive Dir. AEA 2007-10
Miranda Cristofani, Co-Chair Women’s Committee, IATSE Local 800
Sean Crouch
Marjorie David
Charlie Day
Robert Denne, IATSE Local 729
Emily Deschanel
Brooklyn Decker
Ed Decter
Jack Dolgen
Colleen Donahue, IATSE Local 161
Lauren Donner
Ava DuVernay
Don Easy, IBEW Local 40
Alison Emilio, Director, ReFrame
Rick Famuyiwa
Rachel Feldman
Preston Fischer
Dan Fogelman
Jane Fonda
Breen Frazier
Carla Gardini
Leo Geter
Laurence Gilliard, Jr.
Alex Hardcastle
Alma Harel
Tommy Harper
Dorian Harris
Justin Hartley
Daniel Henney
Amy Hill
Erin Hill - Author, “Never Done: A History of Women’s Work in Media Production”
Winnie Holzman
Gwenth Horder-Payton
Bryce Dallas Howard
Jon Huertas
Helen Hunt
Lauren Iungerich
Paul Jackson
Nina Jacobson
Marta Kauffman
Elodie Keene
Shawn Kim
Lilly Ledbetter
Louisa Levy
Rosemary Levy, IATSE Local 798
Joe Mantegna
Tim Matheson
Cady McClain
Matt McGorry
Darla McGlamery, IATSE Local 491
Wendi McLendon
Jen McGowan - Founder, Film Powered / Glass Elevator
Chrissy Metz
Michael Miller, IATSE 4th Int’l Vice President / Dept. Director, Motion Picture & TV Production
Alfred Molina
Mandy Moore
Rachel Morrison
Jennifer Myers, IATSE Local 161
Deborah Nadoolman
Heidi Nakamura, IATSE Local 871
Erin O'Malley
Hailie Overton
Brett Paesel
Sallie Patrick
Lowell Peterson
John C Reilly
Cathy Repola, IATSE, Local 700
Jenna Richman
Robert Richter
James Roday
Adam Rodriguez
Robbie Rogers
Alan Rowe, IATSE Local 728
Nicole Rubio
Liz Ryan
Ellen H. Schwartz
Martin Sheen
Stacey Sher
Marisa Shipley, Chair ReelEquity Campaign, IATSE Local 871
Leslie Simon, IATSE Local 871
Jill Soloway
Rachel Stanley, IATSE Local 892
Nzingha Stewart
Andrew Stumme, IATSE Local 800
Chris Sullivan
David Swope, IATSE Local 705
Wanda Sykes
Yasu Tanida
Gale Tattersall
Robbie Thompson
Lily Tomlin
Clayton Townsend
Raelle Tucker
Aisha Tyler
Jennie Urman
Kirsten Vangsness
Winona Wacker, IATSE Local 600
Lena Waithe
Lucy Walker
Rick Wallace
Sam Waterston
Audrey Wauchope
Alyssa Weisberg
Lizz Wolf
Greg Yaitanes