Mind the gap
Fifty years since the Equal Pay Act came into play has seen huge strides towards the advancement of women in the workforce. Yet, a 2022 study reported that women work for free for two months of the year when compared to men and men take home more of the pie in every single country. At the current rate, Action Aid reports it will take 257 years to close the gender pay gap and in the United Kingdom, the gap stands at 15.5%. Worse still, if you’re a female in the creative industry, research tells us your gap is even wider. One study stated that on average, women in the creative fields earn 25% less than men and for women who want to work in film, television, radio or photography – expect to pocket £15,000 less than your male colleagues. Along with gender, other barriers to equal pay (known as intersectionality) include race, class and sexuality. So, why is there a gap and what can be done about it?
The first step is to acknowledge the gap exists and with large majorities believing the gap is in fact a myth, continuing to discuss the subject is so important.
[SOURCE: HoneyBook]
Let’s go to Hollywood…
It’s not all doom and gloom. There have been huge achievements for women in film recently including Chloe Zhao becoming the second-ever female winner at the Academy Awards for Best Director and Nia DaCosta being the first black woman to have a debut film at the number one spot at the box office. While these are worth celebrating, and every step forwards is a step in the right direction, there’s still work to be done. The Center for the Study of Women in Television & Film shine a spotlight on women’s employment within the film and television industries and in an annual report, known as The Celluloid Report, they reveal the make-up of women in the top 250 highest-grossing films.
The most recent Celluloid Report from 2021 told us that:
· women accounted for 25% of the workforce in these top 250 highest-grossing films
· 6% had a female cinematographer
· 8% had a female composer
· 27% of the editors were female
· 28% of the writers were female
· 17% were directed by a woman
[Source: Women in Film]
Hollywood is just the tip of the iceberg. This year, the Cannes Film Festival celebrates its 75th anniversary and before 2020 there were only 82 women who had films listed in the main competition compared to more than 1,600 men. And it proves in other the creative industries too such as music, where Universal Music UK reported a pay gap of 29.2% in 2020.
While it’s great to have women working in these industries, men continue to dominate the key roles. Clearly, there is room for improvement. When men and women have an equal voice, it means greater diversity which leads to greater creativity and better representation helps to break biases. So, now that we have established there is a gap, we need to explore the reasons for it.
Of course, everything from lack of female representation and gaps in pay can be accredited to our patriarchal heritage. Put simply, the patriarchy allows men (in particular white, straight, cis, non-disabled men) a front seat at every premiere. Tens of thousands of years of this systemic structure has shaped us culturally and, in the workforce today, this can look like lack of opportunities for women, lack of confidence and taking home half the cheque. As comedian Deborah Frances-White explains in her book The Guilty Feminist; “power structures and economic models were created entirely in the absence of women, and they were purposefully created, in part, to exclude women.” This structure of gender inequality acts an invisible force, hardwiring women into feelings of guilt and being self-critical and passive. Challenging this will ultimately lead to systematic change.
School Days
Education isn’t a problem. Studies show that on average, more women study creative subjects at university – and 71% of female creatives hold a degree compared to 51% of men. Despite this, Digital, Culture, Media and Sport reported that six months after graduating, there’s a higher percentage of male creative art graduates in jobs than women. It is not straight after university either as women with similar degrees to their male colleagues are still earning less 10 years after graduating. In photography, Female in Focus reports that 70-80% of photography students are women yet women only account for between 13-15% of professional working photographers.
Ready, Set, Mind the Gap…
It is clear women are electing to study the creative fields and are keen to break into the industry. Yet the representation of women in the creative industries is low, and those who are there are being underpaid when compared to men. So, why is this the case? There are a few things to factor in…
A cluster of work opportunities in London – where the cost of living is much higher – unpaid work, and the ‘it’s not what you know, but who you know’ all play a part. Jaskirt Boora is an award-winning photographer based in the West Midlands. Her work focuses on empowering and giving a voice to marginalised communities and she also teaches at Birmingham City University. She speaks of the industry saying: “there is an unconscious bias and a lot of the gatekeepers still tend to be middle-class white men.”
Because of the lack of representation, discrimination can slip under the doors, with women being afraid to speak up and just ‘happy to be there’ as it means so much. Abbie Jennings, an award-winning photographer from Manchester specialising in music and events, says, “I know so many extremely talented photographers but for some reason, the opportunities are often handed to men on a plate, while women are grafting to get work; it’s disheartening.” Jaskirt agrees, “In the past, I’ve experienced microaggressions where I’ve spoken up about something but then been labelled as argumentative. In turn, it makes you quiet and not challenge things as much because it’s exhausting.”
The Passion Factor
A survey reported by Digital Arts Online stated that 87% of those in the creative industries have worked for free at some point in their career. This can be attributed to a passion factor, or as Sarah Jaffee explores in her book Work Won’t Love You Back, we are more likely to take on unpaid work if we love what we do. Working in the creative industries can also mean late payments or even missed payments. “I’ve worked on sets where I have been the only woman, all of which came with bad experiences,” said Abbie Jennings. “I’ve chased for invoices that have never been paid, I’ve been asked out on sets before and experienced sexist remarks such as being mocked or called inexperienced.”
The ‘In The Dark’ Factor
Since 2017, companies in the UK with over 250 employees have to submit a report to reveal the differences in pay between genders (and 80% of companies pay women less). However, for smaller companies and the self-employed, which 94.8% of design and creative tech companies are reported to be, these figures go undetected. Not only that, women who are working in the creative fields often are not sure if they are being underpaid. Photographer Madeleine Penfold said, “As a freelancer, I don’t know what other photographers are paid to me. I almost feel in the dark.” And she’s not alone. A recent survey by the IPSE (The Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed) found that 35% of female freelancers are not sure what to charge which is why talking about pay and being transparent is so important. Jaskirt added, “I’m not sure if I’ve been underpaid because I don’t know what others are earning but there were times in my twenties when I wasn’t getting commissions, which was frustrating. Now, I work with organisations like Multistory, who are supportive of women in the arts and also champion minority voices. These organisations didn’t exist before, so change is happening.”
The Freelance Factor
Another attribute of the pay gap within the creative field can be credited to the high number of freelancers, which is an industry norm. While being self-employed is highly appealing in terms of flexibility, freedom and work-life balance and 75% of women who are self-employed state they are happy, it comes with challenges. Research by IPSE shows the gender pay gap among the self-employed is at a much higher rate of 43% and on average, women are charging £63 less per day than their male counterparts. Another 2021 study by Major Players reported similar results, finding that on average women take home £10,400 less annually or £44 less a day than men within the creative sector.
[SOURCE: IPSE]
The Confidence Factor
Men charging more happens from the get-go which can stem from lower confidence in women and higher self-esteem in men has been proven regardless of culture. In the workplace, higher self-esteem or self-confidence equates to higher income. University professor, Lina Babcock and author of Women Don’t Ask found men are four times more likely than women to ask for a raise and when women do, they typically request 30% less than men do. To close the pay gap, we must close the confidence gap. Authors Katty Kay and Claire Simpson explored this in their article for The Atlantic saying; “Success, it turns out, correlates just as closely with confidence as it does with competence. No wonder that women, despite all our progress, are still woefully underrepresented at the highest levels. All of that is the bad news. The good news is that with work, confidence can be acquired. Which means that the confidence gap, in turn, can be closed.”
Action Aid state that systemic gender inequality is the ultimate root cause of the gender pay gap and we’ve discovered that confidence plays a part too. This can look like women being more self-critical and not being accustomed to negotiating or speaking up. Emma Gannon says in her book The Multi-Hyphen Method: ‘women are still often pitted against each other too because historically there were only a few seats at the table for women.’
‘A patriarchal society affects both men and women, ‘ Emma continues in her book. ‘Men’s setbacks in the workplace are a feminist issue too.’ Quoting lack of paternity pay for men, high rates of depression in men and prevalence of ‘lad’ culture harmful to both genders – equality is a win for us all.
Comments from our female Co-Founder:
Working within production, I am often one of the few females – if not the only – on set. The job involves lugging around heavy equipment, which men will often ask “are you alright carrying that?”; maybe they are just being polite, but I have noticed the male crew members do not get the same response. This makes me think, ‘is it just because women are actually seen as weak and incapable’?
It appears to be a common practice – a female peer of mine revealed that on every photography job, she will be asked by older males if the equipment is her partners and what her ‘actual job’ is. This implies that for many, women are viewed as being incapable in the field and with that owning and carrying her own equipment.
In my experiences, there is also a noticeable job role divide – female crew members are stylists, MUAs, runners or producers – which typically acquire a cheaper day rate. With running my own production company, I’m aware of the high expenses in terms of equipment and insurance that must be covered, and therefore make DOP’s, Camera Op’s, Sound Recordist’s, etc. day rate much higher, but it made me question why there were so few females behind the camera.
I have a degree in Commercial Photography and during my time at university, I noticed the class was predominantly female (roughly 80%). Since, I have seen my peers settle into jobs with very few females remaining behind the lens. Personally, I had serious doubts about pursuing photography further and if it wasn’t for setting up Natcho with Nathan (a male partner), I don’t think I would have.
A big reason for this was lack of confidence and self-belief however, the main factor holding me back related to fears of the future and starting a family. The majority of photographers are freelance, so do not receive sick pay, holiday pay or maternity leave and the thought of going freelance and later starting a family was terrifying. Not to mention, the physical burden of carrying equipment (and all those awkward positions you get into whilst photographing) with a bump however, I see kick-ass women doing it on Instagram and absolutely killing it in their career. We can’t be what we can’t see.
Assisting is often a gateway into the industry and I have peers who have been put off the field altogether because of bad experiences while doing so. For example, one female peer assisted several male photographers that made her feel very uncomfortable by flirting, asking her on dates and making remarks about her appearance. Would this have happened to a male assistant? Probably not. Everyone should feel safe at work and when the field is dominated by men, assisting female photographers does not come easily – not to mention it is problematic at a societal level when successful photographers are predominantly male.
Regarding the pay gap, I think a big part of the issue is lack of discussion. I am lucky that during university, a semester was dedicated to costing, budgeting and invoicing. This gave me a head start when setting up Natcho as so many people walk into the industry blind and so can be underpaid – learning what your role is worth is vital. At Natcho, we hope to open the discussion and continue raising awareness on this issue, so that together, we can path a better future for women in the creative industry.