What’s absent from far too many conversations about pay equality in Hollywood — and elsewhere — is recognition of the fact that all women aren’t compensated equally. As bad as things are for women in general when it comes to being underpaid and receiving fewer opportunities than men, the situation is significantly worse for women of color. Viola Davis is reminding everyone about this critical piece of the puzzle.
“We won’t talk about gender inequality of pay. Because a lot of the women who’ve stepped forward — and I stand in solidarity with them, okay? — what they are getting paid, which is half of what a man is getting paid … well, we get probably a tenth of what of what a Caucasian woman gets,” the Oscar winner told W Magazine. “And I’m number one on the call sheet. And then I go in, and I have to hustle for my worth.”
Davis clearly supports the white actresses who have spoken out about receiving unfair compensation. But it’s important to bear in mind that white women receive bigger paychecks and more roles than WOC in the industry.
The “How to Get Away with Murder” actress compared her career path to stars such as Meryl Streep, Julianne Moore, and Sigourney Weaver. “And yet I am nowhere near them, not as far as money, not as far as job opportunities, nowhere close to it,” she observed. “I have to constantly get on that phone — and I have fabulous agents, by the way, they are getting it — but I have to get on that phone.”
Back in January Jessica Chastain and Octavia Spencer revealed that they banded together for a favored nations deal on their upcoming holiday movie, a decision born out of a discussion they had about Hollywood’s pay gap. “I said, ‘But here’s the thing, women of color on that spectrum, we make far less than white women,’” Spencer recalled. “So, if we’re gonna have that conversation about pay equity, we gotta bring the women of color to the table.” So they joined forces at the negotiating table. “[Spencer] had been underpaid for so long. When I discovered that, I realized that I could tie her deal to mine to bring up her quote. Men should start doing this with their female costars,” Chastain tweeted.
Davis’ upcoming projects include “Widows,” a heist thriller penned by “Gone Girl” screenwriter and novelist Gillian Flynn, and “Small Great Things,” a drama about black nurse’s legal battle with a white supremacist couple co-starring Julia Roberts.
