I have to agree. When there are both men and women doing the exact same job, but there is a difference in pay - THAT is where the problem is. The issue above is similar to if someone who's got 10+ years experience in their field with evidence of high performance and another who has 4yrs experience in the same field with very little evidence of high performance. The latter is obviously going to get paid less. Gender here doesn't even come into it. People need to stop being so ready to jump on every tiny little thing and turning it into a problem!

Personally, I think the Queen's corgis should be paid the most....

Well the headline of this article is rather misleading. He is not arguing that "paying men and women actors the same doesn't make sense." He's arguing that gender has nothing to do with it in this case, they pay based on popularity of the actor. Which I think he's right about, yeah that's how it works. Now if a very famous woman actor got paid less than an equally or less famous male actor there'd be something to get upset about. I don't know enough about the movie industry to know whether that happens or not.

so how does the wage thing work in movies? once you're on a certain 'level' you can command a certain pay per film, I'm assuming that's based on past performances and the draw of that individual star yeah? so is Matt Smith a bigger name/draw/earner than Clair Foy? if so, then that seems fair no? having said this I know for some movies, certain 'stars' go unpaid so that the movie can stay within budget. Had Matt Smith been in this alongside, say, Julia Roberts, I would imagine her fee would have been huge? so I guess it's all relative yeah?

This title seems misleading

Isn't it a little sexist to assume the reason he was paid more was because he is a man? Are men not allowed to be more talented than women? True equality would peal back the gender of both entertainers and see them for their professional merits and value and never notice the watermark of gender. I am a woman and it offends me that these are considered, "women's issues." These are NOT my issues, rather, these are the issues of the insecure.

This ... ? This is what Bored Panda chooses for an electrifying cover story? Cheap clickbait. Low quality content. C’mon BP. Evolve. It doesn’t hurt, I promise

Matt Smith has no responsibility at all to compensate anyone for his salary. He negotiated it, so it's his. Clair Foy can do her own negotiating. The production company is responsible for compensating the actors.

If women were really paid 80% of mens salary, why wouldn't every single company in the world hire only women??? They would save 20% money!

I thought everyone knew that actors got paid by how famous their face was. And to be fair it makes sense, he is more famous, more fans, more people flocking to watch it due to him and nothing else.

Salaries for Avengers: Age of Ultron Robert Downey Jr. - $40 million Scarlett Johansson - $20 million Chris Evans - $6.9 million Jeremy Renner - $6.1 million Chris Hemsworth - $5.4 million Mark Ruffalo - $2.8 million

He's right that this is not a good example of the gender pay gap. He's the actor who has already made a name for himself while she was practically unknown. He had earned a bigger paycheck while she is still on her way. This isn't about gender.

I agree with that guy who raised his voice against the current. you can not pretend that an actor already known and with a large following, and that will then raise the share of the program is paid as a debutant, as good and interesting. sometimes you want to look for the hair in the egg, even when the hair does not exist. you can not always stand up to sexism, otherwise in the end, you will have the opposite problem, with women being treated better, just because they are women. I am against this, as I am opposed to the preference of the males and to pay them more just because they are males. in cases like this come into play such a number of variants: the presence on the screen, the notoriety, the skill of the actor in previous productions. Let's call it to the wolf or when the wolf will be really nobody will believe it.

I hope he doesn't cave in to this b******t

I used to be a Production Accountant, which means I paid EVERYONE on the crew, including the actors. The better known you are, the more money you're paid. That goes across the board, from writers, directors, actors and crew members, like the A.D., Director of Photography down to the camera crew and everyone else on the crew. Each person makes a new deal on each new film. When a crew member found out his co-worker was making more, for the same job, I said the same thing. "You were happy when you got this job. If you're unhappy now, you can renegotiate your next job." Of course I never said that to Talent, but they wouldn't complain to me. They would complain to their agents, who would hopefully say the same thing. I agree with the person who said jobs should be paid according to merit, not your sex.

Perhaps some pay gaps are justified in this manner, on an individual basis. The problem lies a few steps deeper, though. Like why we don't have more robust, interesting, layered, nuanced roles for women of all ages, which would lead to this extra experience the commenters mention. Or why audiences want to see women in lead roles less. And so on. Just because in this very moment a pay gap is okay, based on star power alone, doesn't mean there aren't issues of inequality.

In every industry salary follows the increase in experience. I don't see the point of this discussion, it's not men vs women, it's better negotiator and more experience vs a newbie.

Is it not a supply and demand issue? In any elite performance role, and acting is clearly THE performance role, people are not usually paid a standard rate. If you have only a few competent male actors and comparatively a greater supply of competent female actors then supply and demand economics suggests the men will command a higher price. Are there not far more women who want to be actors than there are men?

Equality of opportunity, not equality of outcome

The guy didn't know who Claire Foy was before the series - this is his personal gap, I knew her from three previous dramas.

Performance related pay is what drives the activities industry. It seems unfair on the surface, but the guy us right. They're paid what they are worth in terms of drawing in audiences. It's not the same as equating office jobs as requiring equal pay for equal work. Would you expect Bruce Willis ' stunt double to get the same pay cheque as him? He's on screen as much as Willis is in any action flick, acting away as guy who gets blown up or thrown out of a car etc.

I'll have to agree on this one, if this is really her first big hit, how could she get paid the same as an experienced actor? I do think she would need a rise staring on season 2 though, but that has nothing to do with the actor, but with Netflix.

He is 100% why I started watching the show at all. So pretty clear that their reasoning is sound. It does also makes sense as in any job that, as your performance gains repute that you/Foy would get an increase, so hopefully that will close the gap somewhat.

Ugh. I've had enough of this s**t. If I wanted endless rehashings of Imgur's opinions about feminism, I'd just browse Imgur. I'm removing BoredPanda from my bookmarks.

Valid point.

It’s also supply and demand. I’m sure there are ladies that would line up to take the lesser pay to boost their career.

Want better pay? Get a better Agent.

Well, it's a heck of a good point. Ford was paid a reported $10-$20 million. Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill (who appeared on screen for what, 30 seconds?) were paid in the low 7 figures. The undeniable star, Daisy Ridley, got somewhere between $100-$300 thousand.

The petition deserves the Virtue-Signaling Gold Medal for utter stupidity. Getting money from the male leads only makes women even more dependent on men. Reducing the question to penis vs. non-penis will create ill will. Actresses have AGENTS to negotiate for them. If a part is offered, they want YOU. Your agent’s job is to find the magic number that makes it easier to pay more (small problem) than to re-start the talent search (bigger problem). But instead you suggest that for both versions of “True Grit“ Oscar-winners Jeff Bridges and John Wayne should have shared their pay with Hailee Steinfeld and Kim Darby, both in their feature debuts. And if you’re really serious, then for “Sophie’s Choice” Meryl Streep, already a bankable star, should have shared her pay with little-known Kevin Kline and Peter MacNicol. Respect and equality are not demanded, granted or legislated, let alone blackmailed. They are earned. That’s something everyone has to do for himself. Here endeth the lesson.

I think female and male should be paid the same if they have the same job and it doesn't matter if your more famous than the other

And yet Dr Who still sucks after forgettable actor after forgettable actor slides through the role. HHe’s not that memorable, and who is yurgen? Funny how suddenly he’s an expert. Some guy on imagur. Speshul!