“Age, Gender, and Compensation: A Study of Hollywood Movie Stars” by De Pater, Judge, and Scott (2014)
Looking at the intersection of gender and age shows the reasons why older female stars will earn less money than their male counterparts on the silver screen. In a peer-reviewed article in the Journal of Management Inquiry, De Pater, Judge, and Scott (2014) have found that “average earnings per film of female movie stars increase until the age of 34 but decrease rapidly thereafter. Male movie stars’ average earnings per film reach the maximum at age 51 and remain stable after that”. The authors acknowledge the gender-wage gap and employment differences in predominately male arenas, citing that in 2010, median earnings of full-time working women were still 81% to that of men (De Pater et al 2014). While this doesn’t comment on racial differences in wage earning, it is found that as women get older, they earn less than men of their same age group (younger people have a smaller wage gap). While the authors also acknowledge that any movie has risk of failure and casting the most sought-after actor doesn’t guarantee success (see also Ch. 6 in ‘Mix It Up’ by David Grazian), they find that actors salaries reflect their market value (with older men earning more than older women as they age). There is a double standard for aging, with women entering the industry on average 6 years younger than men, winning awards at younger ages, and facing less-than-attractive role opportunities as they age (De Pater et al 2014). They find that age has different social meanings for men, who’s “well-worn faces convey maturity, character, and experience” while a woman’s face is “valued for appearing young” (2014).
Using age, gender, number of awards and nominations, and earnings for their most recent films, they authors find that ageism is very much alive for women in Hollywood. While some might be skeptical of the research methods for this study (finding the information on websites like IMDb.com), I trust these findings because they utilize historical gender wage gap information and connect it to ageism. The study comments not only on the Hollywood wage gap, but also on how getting older is seen as a privilege or an obstacle, depending on one’s gender.
Here’s a link to the full article: (Located in Sage Journals, free viewing for USF-affiliated persons)
Here is an illustration of the Hollywood wage gap based on gender and age (visual not from peer-reviewed article) (dadaviz.com)