Reel Equity

The time has come to take a hard look at how the Entertainment Industry compensates the many thousands of people who work in production below the line.

#ReelEquity is comprised of a collective of film industry professionals and allies calling for equitable pay in the entertainment industry.

It is no longer acceptable for employees in traditionally female-dominated classifications to be stuck with low wages that make it difficult to make ends meet. Nor is it acceptable that—despite the recent changes in state law aimed at closing the wage gap—the women (and men) employed in historically female crafts earn significantly less than their predominantly male counterparts while performing substantially similar work.

Learn below about the results of the study commissioned by IATSE Local 871 with Working Ideal about gender pay bias in our below the line crafts. Join #ReelEquity in  calling on the Entertainment Industry to take the steps necessary to ensure its pay and compensation practices above and below the line on all productions meet the legal—and moral—requirement to pay fairly without discrimination.

It's time for real change.

Sign the Letter

Tell the entertainment industry that you support members of historically female crafts in their demand for PAY EQUITY by signing your name to the Open Letter to the Entertainment Industry.

Pay Equity Summit 2018

On September 29th, 2018, Women In Media, IATSE Locals 871 (Script Supervisors, Coordinators, Accountants and Allied Production Specialists), 839 (The Animation Guild), and 892 (The Costume Designer’s Guild) joined together for a panel, town hall, and mixer where we discussed and shaped solutions for glaring pay equity gaps in the entertainment business.

Pay Equity Summit 2018

The second panel of the Pay Equity Summit: Melissa Goodman, Director of Advocacy, ACLU Southern California; Nithya Raman, Executive Director, Time's Up Entertainment; Marisa Shipley, Pay Equity Committee Chair and Vice President, IATSE Local 871; Kathy Connell, Executive Producer, SAG Awards and National Programming at SAG-AFTRA; and Alison Emilio, Director of ReFrame.

The study, completed in January 2018, included data analysis, interviews, legal analysis and industry research, and identified a history of gender segregation and stereotyping, and a culture of gender bias and sexual harassment

Read the Study

IATSE Local 871 retained Working IDEAL to perform an in-depth assessment of gender bias in compensation for four female-dominated Local 871 crafts involved in film, television and other media production: Script Supervisors, Production Coordinators, Assistant Production Coordinators and Art Department Coordinators.

The Working IDEAL study, conducted between November 2016 and January 2018, included interviews with members of these crafts and with other individuals working in potential comparator roles on productions, as well as an online survey of Local 871 members, analysis of payroll data, review of collective bargaining agreements and rates, and other industry research.

Through these sources, we identified a history of gender segregation and stereotyping, and a culture of gender bias and sexual harassment, which affects the work members of these crafts do and influences the industry perception of its value. The study came to three major conclusions.

  • Conclusion 1: A long history of gender segregation and stereotyping — and a current culture of gender bias and sexual harassment in film and television production — affects the work opportunities available to members of these female-dominated crafts and how the industry values their contributions.
  • Conclusion 2: These Local 871 crafts are paid hundreds or even thousands of dollars per week less than counterparts in comparable male-dominated crafts, even though California’s Fair Pay Act generally requires equal pay for men and women performing substantially similar work and federal law bars gender discrimination in pay.
  • Conclusion 3: The industry should undertake a thorough review of pay for male and female dominated crafts in light of its obligations under California and federal law and correct any inequities.

Proactive Steps to support Gender Pay Equity

How to Help