American Idol kicks off its new season tonight but women everywhere should think twice before tuning in.
Do you care about equal pay for women? If you do you should watch NBC's Biggest Loser instead.
If you don't like pay inequity between men and women just remember how American Idol producers pretty much said "screw you" to Paula Abdul.
Even Simon Cowell is taking a stand and talking about starting his own rival show and taking Abdul along with him. He recently told People magazine: "I adore Paula. Whatever happens, I will be working with her in some capacity. Because I miss her."
Fox and American Idol said: "sorry my dear" to long-standing Idol female judge, Abdul, last year because she demanded a small percentage of what the male judges, and even Ryan Seacrest, the host, were getting.
According to TV industry sources Seacrest got a $30 million deal, Simon Cowell got $45 million a year and Abdul cut her request for $20 million back but still got a "no way" from Idol producers.
I know it's just a TV talent show, but if we don't stand up when a woman is publicly told she's not worth as much as her male counterparts, why should we expect a level playing field for our daughters in the workplace at large?
This from a Forbes commentary today:
According to The Complete Mothers' Index, a 2007 report issued by Save the Children, women in the U.S. earn 62 cents to every dollar earned by men. This disparity ranks the U.S. 15th out of the 30 industrialized democracies of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and 22nd out of the 44 highly developed nations ranked in the Save the Children report. Sweden ranks first among highly developed nations, with women earning 81 cents to every dollar earned by men.
I have written about how my daughter and son, 10 and 7, are upset that American Idol won't be on our TV watching list this year. But in the long run I hope they learn a lesson about what's right and what's wrong.
This is one of those easy protests gals and guys. We don't have to brave the cold with our signs demanding equal rights. We just have to tune out of the biggest show on television. A small price to pay to take a stand for women who still make 75 cents for every dollar men make. Right?
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In America, companies can pay employees whatever they want to and if the employee doesn't like it, they are free to walk and see what they can get from the competition.
If Paula really is worth more than she's saying, than a competing network will invariably pay her more than Fox.
That's how the free market works and you really can't apply the concept of "equal pay" when it comes to sports and entertainment.
(Equal Pay Act:
The EPA prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in the payment of wages or benefits, where men and women perform work of similar skill, effort, and responsibility for the same employer under similar working conditions.
Note that:
* Employers may not reduce wages of either sex to equalize pay between men and women.
* A violation of the EPA may occur where a different wage was/is paid to a person who worked in the same job before or after an employee of the opposite sex.
* A violation may also occur where a labor union causes the employer to violate the law.)
Being a show host, co-host, judge, or whatever on TV is not similar, or even close to a normal job where there are hundreds or thousands of men and women doing the same or roughly the same job, so you can reasonably compare pay equity.
For American Idol, there were only three other judges to compare to, and now Ellen. Not a very large sample. I don't know what Kara makes or what Ellen will be making but if either are making considerably more than Paula was, then I guess the "because she's a woman" argument doesn't hold water and maybe there was another reason.
That said, I don't think the show will be the same without Paula and I won't be watching. And while I really think Ellen is funny, I saw her guest-judge once and she was terrible, in my opinion.
I would like to see audience polled on which judge is the biggest draw for them. I think Paula would be right up there. If so, she deserves every penny of what Simon and Randy get.
The burden of proof clearly is on FOX to show WHY they paid her less. They are absolutely responsible for justifying this. Otherwise, pony up, FOX. Or Paula should sue in order to force them to justify not only to her, but to the public why she was paid less.
Mighty suspicious if you ask me.
Was Paula worth $20 million a year? We'll see if ratings (and therefore revenue) drop more than the $20 million she was asking for. You can bet ratings will drop when Simon leaves.
I am a woman, and a strong supporter of equal pay. But the reality of this situation is that the pay is based on the pull. This is not akin to the types of jobs that non-celebrities have in the "real" world, where the pay disparity is a problem. Just because Paula made less and is a woman, doesn't mean that Paula made less BECAUSE she's a woman.
I will continue to watch Idol.
When one of the big draws with Idol was the personality differences between the judges (esp Paula and Simon) and how it played out on TV, having the female judge earn less than half of the male judges is a telling indicator of gender-based pay disparity.