Michelle Williams has won the 2019 Emmy Award for best actress in a limited series or TV movie for her role as a broadway dancer in FX's "Fosse/Verdon." Her speech started with the typical thank you's, but took a turn to, "the next time a woman -- and especially a woman of color, because she stands to make 52 cents on the dollar compared to her white, male counterpart -- tells you what she needs in order to do her job, listen to her. Believe her."
With a wage gap being evident in every career and industry, Hollywood is no exception. In 2018, only one female actor, Scarlett Johansson, appeared on the list of the top 10 highest earning actors. The top 10 female actors earned only about a quarter of what the top 10 male actors earned.
Another wage gap that has made many headlines in the past few months is the United States Women's Soccer team, earning only 38 cents for every dollar paid to the United States Men's soccer team. A trial is scheduled for its gender pay gap lawsuit next May. This equal pay battle didn't just begin with the World Cup, but was heightened, despite the U.S. women's team being far more successful.
The overall gap has come a long way from the 1900s, but there is still so far to go. Some of the gap may have to do with the difference in occupations between men and women, however, that is no excuse.
The gender wage gap won't be solved over night, perhaps next year at the Emmy's we will hear another winner's speech on the gender wage gap. I hope the highly publicized speeches continue about the gender wage gap for the sole reason of millions of viewers watching and listening. Regardless, Michelle William's speech continued to shed light on a topic that needs to be discussed despite how uncomfortable it can be.
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