Women are all over the big screen – but pay gap persists in UK cultural sector

For every £1 earned by men working in the arts, museums and libraries, women are paid 85p, figures show

It’s been a banner year for women in film, from Margot Robbie’s turn as Barbie to Emma Stone’s Oscar-winning portrayal of Bella Baxter in Poor Things. Even Maestro, Bradley Cooper’s ode to Leonard Bernstein, centred the story on the composer’s wife, Felicia Montealegre (Carey Mulligan), as much as it did the man himself.

But according to experts, improved representation on the big screen is not necessarily being reflected in the pay packets of women working in film and television. While Robbie was reportedly paid $50m for Barbie after the film’s record-breaking box office success, one harsh reality remains – female actors are generally making far less money than their male counterparts.

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