She paid the price for Jurassic World…
Recently, actress Bryce Dallas Howard spoke out about the gender-based pay inequity that still plagues Hollywood (and most workplaces…). In an interview with Insider the American actress spoke about this very real issue.
The actress, who has appeared in all the Jurassic World trilogy films, confided that she was paid much less than her colleague Chris Pratt. Yet both stars are very well known, and their screen time is similar, so there is no reason why one of them should be paid less than the other.
Bryce Dallas Howard explains that when she negotiated her contract in 2014, the pay equity discussions in Hollywood were not yet present, which put her at a disadvantage.
And unfortunately, the contract is signed for the entire trilogy, so despite the overwhelming success of the films, the actress was not able to get better pay for her work.
However, the actress discussed the situation with Chris Pratt, who agreed to negotiate on her behalf with the producers. His intervention allowed her to get nice contracts on the derivatives of the franchise, such as theme parks and video games.
This specific situation reminds us of the importance of having allies who speak up and stand together with women to fight injustices of all kinds.
While ideally, Bryce Dallas Howard would have been able to negotiate and be heard by the producers without Chris Pratt’s intervention, the reality is still different, and there is still a long way to go before true gender equality is achieved.