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Forbes top paid actresses vs actors: Sexism exposed in these numbers
The pay disparity between men and women in films is on full display after the release of Forbes’s annual best-paid actors and actress lists. These top paid actresses versus top paid actors figures show exactly how actress’ are discriminated against when it comes to pay.
Fact: The 10th highest paid actor, Akshay Kumar ($31 million), on Forbes magazine’s list of highest paid actors in 2016 earned $6 million more than the third highest paid actress in the world, Avengers: Age of Ultron star Scarlett Johnsson.
The pay disparity between men and women in films is on full display after the release of Forbes’s annual best-paid actors and actress lists.
When compared to the list of highest paid actors released on Thursday, women earned noticeably less. The list of the world’s highest-paid actress’ was released on Tuesday.
Top paid actress Jennifer Lawrence’s $46 million haul over the past year puts her at a disappointing No. 6 spot on the actors list, nearly $20 million less than her male counterpart, highest paid actor Dwayne Johnson ($64.5 million). Her earnings are only 72% of Johnson’s, reported The Guardian.
Jennifer earned even less than the other four actors that made up the top five on the list: Jackie Chan ($61 million), Matt Damon ($55 million), Tom Cruise ($53 million) and Johnny Depp ($48 million).
Basically, the highest paid actress in the world is the world’s sixth highest paid actor.
What’s worse?
Melissa McCarthy, who starred in the hit comedy Spy and is the second highest paid actress on the list, earned $33 million - This would be good enough for a No. 8 spot on the actor’s list, along with Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan and Iron Man Robert Downey Jr.
Perhaps most shockingly, Bollywood diva Deepika Padukone and superstar Akshay Kumar, who were both placed at No.10 in Forbes’s annual best-paid actors lists, which are divided between men and women, have highlighted the huge pay gap between genders. While Deepika made $10 million, Akshay made three times that amount, $31.5 million.
The Forbes lists, which show the actors’ earnings pre-tax and before the deduction of management fees, were produced by Forbes using data from Nielsen, Box Office Mojo and IMDb and interviews with agents, managers and lawyers. They are published at a time when female stars are becoming less hesitant in publicly criticising the entertainment industry for unfair pay.
In May, House of Cards star Robin Wright said she had threatened bosses at Netflix with going public unless she was paid the same as her male co-star, Kevin Spacey. In the same month, Mad Max: Fury Road star Charlie Theron, number six on this year’s list, spoke about her experience of campaigning for the same pay as her co-star The Huntsman: Winter’s War, Chris Hemsworth.
Closer home, speaking at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit 2015, one of the most successful stars in Bollywood today, Kangana Ranaut was unequivocal about wage gap.
“Women who ask for what they deserve and are open about demands for equal pay are considered difficult. That needs to be changed. You know your worth and you should know when to put your foot down,” Kangana said, echoing several other actress’ stand on pay disparity.
These top paid actresses versus top paid actors figures show exactly how actress’ are discriminated against when it comes to pay.
Follow the writer on Twitter: @SanyaHoon
