Prospero | Gender discrimination

The pay inequality ruling women in the arts

Despite liberal values, flexible hours and project-based work, the arts remain susceptible to discrimination

By H.G.

THE distinct wage gap separating men and women in the American workforce no longer comes as a surprise. A multitude of studies have reported in recent years that women make a staggering 79 cents for every dollar earned by men. But what about in the arts? The field is known for its uniqueness, filled with liberal types who are more often self-employed than they are boxed in to a standard eight-hour desk job. Yet a new study reveals that pay inequality is just as present in the arts as it is in virtually every other field.

A report released earlier this year by a group of researchers from Lehigh University, Vanderbilt University and Arizona State University compared wages by gender and discovered that, on average, men earned almost $20,000 more than women before controls. “We found that it’s equivalent to other fields,” says Danielle Lindemann, one of the study’s authors. The team used data from the nationwide Strategic National Arts Alumni Project, which included more than 33,000 individuals with degrees in the arts.

But the field is distinct in one aspect. The researchers discovered that while women in nearly every field see a pay cut come motherhood, artists do not. In fact, for every new child, mothers actually saw a slight wage increase of roughly $780 per year. Such an exemption could be due in part to artists’ liberal tendencies, which may encourage shared parenting responsibilities and discourage bosses from penalising mothers. And yet, fathers still come out ahead when a new child is added to their family: the study found that men see an annual $8,000 pay boost for every new dependent (only up to three).

The most likely explanation for the absence of a motherhood pay cut is simply the nature of the field. A career in the arts often involves project-based work and more opportunities for self-employment. These elements increase working-day flexibility and thus allow mothers to juggle additional family responsibilities without it impacting their work and, by extension, their income.

In a sense, this is a double-edged sword, says Steven Tepper, another author of the study. Contract-based and project-based work can be helpful for mothers, but it can also serve to accentuate the broader gender-based wage disparity. This is because that type of work relies heavily on skilled negotiating and networking, and men tend to do better on both accounts. For example, when Jennifer Lawrence, an Academy Award-winning actress, found out that she had been paid less than her co-stars in “American Hustle”, she blamed it on her negotiating skills. “I didn't want to seem ‘difficult’ or ‘spoiled’” she wrote on the popular feminist website, “Lenny”.

Indeed, inequality in the industry can seem pervasive. The National Museum of Women in the Arts reported that the record for female artwork sold at an auction is less than half of the record for a male artist (A Picasso was sold for about $180m). The organisation also reported that men hold the majority of museum directorships, with women only holding about one-quarter of them.

Mr Tepper says that he approached this new study expecting that there would be less gender discrimination in the arts, given that the field is historically associated with women. “In the late 19th century, the arts were relegated to women,” he says. The situation has clearly evolved. These days more women study the arts in college, and yet more men work in the field, according to the study. Mr Tepper says he plans to look beyond income differences, and examine how female artists are treated when it comes to such things as recognition, reputation and publicity. “The full dimensions of what it means to live an artistic life need to be explored beyond just wages,” he says. Although gender-based discrimination is easy to spot by examining wages, it is surely present in the many other facets that make up a career in the arts.

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