A RESPONSE TO EQUAL PAY DAY: FOR BIPOC CREATIVES
BY TIARA STARKS
For the past year, the COVID-19 pandemic along with the growing number of stay-at-home policies from state to state have not only disrupted various industries such as hospitality, retail, and finance but also entertainment and media. In the gig economy, many women, specifically women of color have turned to creative gigs to help pay the bills. Women of color have disproportionately faced unemployment throughout this crisis. When places of business return to the workforce, they may face the unemployment penalty. This penalty is typically observed when people return to the workforce from unemployment. This pandemic only exasperated what was already apparent: pay discrimination and unfair labor practices.
This year, the national Equal Pay Day occurred on March 24th and while it symbolizes how far into the year the average woman, in this case, a white woman must work in order to have earned what the average white male had earned, it also varies by the ethnic and racial demographic of the employee in a company. For every $1 a man would make, a woman will have earned less than that. As of this year, Asian-American women earned 85 cents making their equal pay day March 9th, African American women earned 61 cents, making their equal pay day August 3rd, Native American and Indigenous women earned 58 cents, making their equal pay day September 8th , and Latinx earned 53 cents, making their equal pay day October 21st. The lack of fairness is what has driven these communities to contemplate whether pursuing a career as a creative freelancer is worth it. Now more than ever, the amount of individuals who have been relying heavily on freelance income is now growing including the rise of self-employed BIPOC creatives. With this, comes more emphasis on learning about equal pay and employer accountability. In the creative industry, it’s not uncommon for people to be underpaid or even not being paid at all.
In 2017, a group of 38 freelancers sued Ebony magazine, many of them Black, alleging that they were owed an excess of $80,000 for unpaid work. While the freelancers were eventually paid by the Black culture magazine, it sparked a conversation as well as multiple stories about the company’s treatment of freelancers via social media. It seems as if many BIPOC creative freelancers are hired in order to develop high-performing content that’s centered around being “othered” but are also expected to create this type of content while exerting an immense amount of energy for promise of little to no money. A tactic that can make searching for employment feel even more exhausting than it already is.
“Now more than ever, the amount of individuals who have been relying heavily on freelance income is now growing including the rise of self-employed BIPOC creatives. With this, comes more emphasis on learning about equal pay and employer accountability. In the creative industry, it’s not uncommon for people to be underpaid or even not being paid at all. ”
That being said, there are solutions to this growing problem. Here are a few actions that can help diminish the racial and gender pay gap. One action is to support fair scheduling practices and bills not only on the state level but on the federal level as well. Historically, Women of color have had to work in one or more low-wage jobs due to the racial and gender discrimination from employers within the labor market; an issue that is still going on to this day. In addition, these jobs often have unpredictable schedules which makes it even harder for women who are single parents to figure out their own schedules and arrange for child care. There is also the added stress of acknowledging the stigma that working mothers lack the flexibility to conform to the unstable scheduling changes. Laws have been passed on the state-level to address this issue but there needs to be more action in the federal government so that employers across all industries are being held accountable.
Another action that can be taken is to support pay transparency. There was a time when women were not able to openly discuss their salaries with their colleagues. While the culture of discussing pay is changing, it still is generally discouraged among employees. On January 21st, a bill was proposed to Congress called “The Paycheck Fairness Act” which would reduce pay secrecy and give women resources to address pay discrimination. This bill also "punishes employers for retaliating against workers who share wage information, puts the justification burden on employers as to why someone is paid less and allows workers to sue for punitive damages of wage discrimination."
Employers are expected to conduct racial and gender pay analysis to determine whether or not they are perpetuating all of the harmful practices previously mentioned. Employers should also be aware of performance reviews, promotions and bonus distributions and make sure that they aren’t being affected by any unconscious bias. In order for there to be progress within the creative freelancer community, accountability is essential. Be aware of what your state legislators are proposing when it comes to employment-related bills and above all else, continue to advocate for change so that current and future creatives have an equal opportunity to be considered for opportunities without having to worry about any financial barriers impeding on their right to work and create freely.
Additional resources:
https://blog.fracturedatlas.org/coronavirus-resources-for-artists-of-color