Mind the Gap

Explicit content warning

04/11/24 • 27 min

Hollywood Confessional

Imagine you're working your ass off for a thankless 60+ hours a week job on a TV show, and you discover everyone else in your position is making more than you.
PS, they're all men. And you're the only woman.
In this week's episode of the Hollywood Confessional, we hear a confession from an office production assistant who found herself in this very dilemma.
"When I was handed all of the pay cards with everybody's rates on them for
that week, it happened that the card on top was another production assistant.
And when I looked at his card –- not trying to look, but in receiving something, one
must look at it -- I realized he was getting paid $50 more a week than me."
Awareness leads to action in this inspiring story from a PA who found the courage to confront her boss and demand fair pay... despite the very real fear that doing so could end her career.
"I was really scared. I feel scared even just describing this story to you. Because think about what this guy could do to me, you know? He could make it so I could never work in this town again."
We get into the dangers of taking a stand when you feel like you have no power, and the calculated risks that come with following your beliefs. Finally, we discuss what entertainment industry workers can do to protect themselves in similar pay gap situations.
Spoiler... sometimes these stories have a happy ending.

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Hollywood Confessional is a Ninth Way Media production, produced by Meagan Daine and J.R. Zamora-Thal.
Sound Effects and Music provided by Zapsplat and Pixabay.
Keywords: filmmaking podcast, film podcast, screenwriting podcast, entertainment podcast, Hollywood, filmmaking, writerslife, actorslife, setlife

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Previous Episode

Bitch It Was You

We are back! Welcome to season three of Hollywood Confessional. The season opener sets the stage with a gripping narrative from a support staffer, who unveils the emotional rollercoaster of managing a monster boss.

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Next Episode

#PayUpHollywood Fesses Up: An Interview with Liz Hsiao Lan Alper and Alex Rubin

Hello Hollywood Faithful! Today we've got an on the record interview with Liz Hsiao Lan Alper and Alex Rubin of Pay Up Hollywood.
Pay Up Hollywood began as grassroots movement in 2019, in an attempt to bring attention to the pay inequities, abuses and struggles of many Hollywood assistants. In subsequent years, PayUpHollywood has campaigned for Hollywood studios and companies to pay support staffers a living wage, in an effort to both tear down the paywall that keeps historically underprivileged voices out of the industry and to ensure current support staff can afford to work in their current position. PayUpHollywood aims to provide resources and aid to current entertainment support staffers as well as ongoing data and information about entertainment support staffers to other groups and companies who want to be part of the solution.
You can find more information on their website payuphollywood.com or on their socials, @payuphollywood for X (fka Twitter) and @payup.hollywood on Instagram.

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