#NotWorthLess highlights the battle for equality behind the scenes in Hollywood
A social media movement took Twitter by storm this week in #NotWorthLess, as people from the entertainment industry spoke out about pay inequity in Hollywood and the urgent need for change.
This movement to pressure the industry to pay writers, producers and other Hollywood roles at the same level as men, and especially white men, comes just days after Adele Lim, the Malaysian-born co-writer of "Crazy Rich Asians," stepped away the mega-hit's sequel because she was to be paid significantly less than her co-writer, Peter Chiarelli.
"Being evaluated that way can't help but make you feel that is how they view my contributions," Lim told the Hollywood Reporter. The magazine reported that Chiarelli later volunteered to split his fee with Lim but she declined.
Another catalyst of #NotWorthLess was executive producer Ashley Gable, who wrote late Tuesday night, "After 3 years on a hit show, found out I was paid 2/3 of what 2 male EPs made."
After negotiating up to 75 percent of what her male counterpart made, she said she left a year later after being unsatisfied with the outcome.
Others chimed in with stories of their own.
After working on two different shows on two different unnamed networks, Deirdre Mangan, a fellow producer, said that, years later, she asked a former male co-worker what he made.
"He made $1,500 more per episode," she wrote. But when, at the time, she had asked for more, "I got nowhere, I was told there was no money for me."
There are hundreds more stories online, many of which Mangan and Gable are sharing and retweeting to create what they say is an overdue reckoning.
One female writer spoke not only about pay disparity, but losing a job to a room full of men.
"I interviewed for a late-night show, was told my submission packet was the best one and they still didn’t hire me even though they paraphrased my joke for their marketing campaign. Of 7 writers hired, only one was female. Guess that was enough. #NotWorthLess," she wrote.
Another added, "When I got offered a script deal, my lawyer kept insisting I turn it down. When I pressed her on it, she finally admitted that her other client, a male, had the same deal at the same company for several hundred thousand dollars more - and they wouldn't budge for me. #NotWorthLess."
Some pointed out that it is just about gender and race, but also about ageism.
"In my late 50s, I was seeking an agent. I spoke with one from one of the majors who said, "Why should I waste my time trying to sell your material when you're probably gonna be dead soon?" #NotWorthLess," Steve Feld wrote.
The results from this growing movement? Well, young writers are taking notice and thanking those who are paving the way for a brighter, more equal future.
Kaycee Felton-Lui, a TV writer, wrote: "I’ve only been in the #WGA for a little over a year, but I’m so grateful to the incredible women writers sharing their #NotWorthLess stories and lighting the way for us to stand together and demand equitable treatment for all undervalued voices."
