Sexism, Ageism Rule Art World
Rohin Guha
December 04, 2008
Remember that time when we analyzed the effect Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton had on the portrayal of women on television, and we concluded that nothing in the world had changed vis-á-vis gender roles despite the rise of women to political prominence? Well, the same is true for the art world! Sort of! According to this report released by the National Endowment for the Arts, female artists typically earn about $0.75 for every dollar their male counterparts make. Worse yet is the disparity between young artists and older artists -- 18-to-24 year-olds earn about $0.95 on the dollar, while those pushing 50 would be lucky to get above $0.65.
On the plus side, female artists have made significant gains in fields like architecture (traditionally dominated by men), although in over 25 states, women make less than 75% of what men make. Perhaps a solution can be reached by inviting those against equal pay to one of the infamous dinner parties hosted by artist Judy Chicago.
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Posted by A.V. Kennedy on Thu Dec 4, 2008 at 05.16 pm
Might not the age disparity be a good sign? Is is possible that young female artists are demanding and getting closer to equal pay, whereas their mother’s generation has been limited perhaps by previous choices—given how many fewer opts there might have been when the previous generation of female artists were starting out, perhaps older artists couldn’t take advantage of opportunities that would have boosted their future earning power. I’m not saying sexism isn’t a current and pervasive problem in the arts world—it certainly is, but if there’s evidence for hope, that would be potentially heartening—energy to continue the struggle for equity.