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A
Research Project
On

Gender Pay Gap in Indian Film Industry

To
Department of Sociology

Submitted To: Submitted By:

Mrs. Pooja Yadav Aditya Rajgir Gosavi
211033441

Modern College of Arts, Science and Commerce

Ganeshkhind, Pune
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Acknowledgement
I would like to thank my Professor Pooja Yadav who
gave me this opportunity to work on this project. I
got to learn a lot from this project about Gender
equality and research. I would also like to thank our
vice principal Dr. Jyoti Gagangras.
At last, I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to
my parents because without their help this project
would not have been successful. Finally, I would like
to thank my dear friends who have been with me all
the time.

Signature Signature
Professor Head of the Department
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Content
 Introduction
 Literature Review
 Objectives
 Method
 Research
 Conclusion
 Report Writing
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Introduction

Is the gender pay gap in the film industry responsible for

the common belief that it is fair to pay less to women
than men for the same position? Though Articles 39 (D)
and 41 of the Indian Constitution recognize the principle
of equal pay for equal work for both men and women
and the ‘right to work’. How far do we follow the law?
According to the Gender Gap Index in 2020, India has
slipped to the 112th position from the previous 108th in
2018. According to the report, it will take India close to
100 years to bridge the gap in areas of politics,
economy, health, and education. It ranks 149th in
economic participation and opportunity, and 117th in
wage equality for similar work.

While some female stands against this discrimination,

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others have their hands tied due to the fear of being

replaced. The approach presented here is radical but
commensurate with the situation. This paper argues
that the Indian Government should regulate the fee
system in films and requisite the filmmakers to assure
equal pay for both male and female actors. It first
establishes the gender pay gap, then discusses the
various advantages of the results proposed, and finally
addresses potential objections to the plan on economic
grounds.
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Literature Review
Gender inequality has been found to occur in numerous
ways for example women often receive lower pay for the
same or comparable work made by men and they are
often limited in their chances for promotion especially to
top positions (e.g., Blau and Kahn., 2006, Groshen, 1991;
Hannan, Schomann and Blossfeld, 1990). Men's skills and
qualifications often continue to be granted greater
recognition and value than women skills and qualification
(e.g. Horrel and Rubery and Burchell, 1990). Actor Sonam
Kapoor opened up that she lost several films because she
stood up against unequal pay. “The pay gap is ridiculous,”
she said. Adding, “I can stand up to it, but then I don’t get
those roles, and I’m okay with that.” The actor added that
over the past few years, she has realized that she cannot
judge anyone. However, being privileged it was not
difficult for her to make the choice (e.g.
https://www.shethepeople.tv/shestars/deepika-
padukone-actors-on-gender-pay-gap/).

The 29-year-old Sonakshi feels that if a female actor can

carry an entire film on her own, she should be given the
remuneration she rightfully deserves. “If a filmmaker
shows that kind of trust in a woman, and if she brings the
returns [on investment], you can and should give her the
pay that you give to the men,” says Sonakshi emphatically
(source:
https://www.hindustantimes.com/bollywood/sonakshi-
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sinha-unhappy-with-pay-gap-between-male-and-
female-stars-in-bollywood/story-
HSvQzuN7N9zoMToTbsFP6K.html)
A major part of the audience claim they watch the film
only because of the presence of their favorite actor, not
bothering about the script, direction or story. Since
actresses do not enjoy the kind of stardom in society the
actors have, their solo films or films where they play the
lead fails to create an impact (source.
https://www.youthkiawaaz.com/2020/03/pay-parity-in-
bollywood-what-needs-to-change-2/).
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Objectives
 Trailing the history of pay discrimination in
film industry.
 Highlight the thoughts of film industry’s
popular names on the gender pay gap.
 Determine what measures should be taken
to tackle the issue of gender pay gap.
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Method
Observational research allows the researcher to see
what their subjects really do when confronted with
various choices or situations. The term refers to the
study of non-experimental situations in which
behaviour is observed and recorded. It could also
be termed, “what’s going on or what’s she doing.”
The research is classified as non-experimental
because the variables are neither controlled nor
manipulated. The results are both qualitative and
quantitative in nature.
For research of the topic “Gender Pay Gap in Indian
Film Industry” I used the observation method. With
the help of Google I read articles related to the topic
and Interviews of actors speaking about the topic. I
read related literature and research which was done
previously by experts. By observing the trends
followed by film makers regarding differences in
based on gender pay scale I was able figure out and
understand the reason behind the problem.
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Conclusion
By observing the unfairness in the pay scale
practices in the film Industry, this research
establishes the common discrimination female
actors face regarding pay scale for the lead roles. In
many cases actors are seen standing against this but
only the privileged ones are capable of standing
strong on their thoughts while others have to
compromise fees they are receiving because of the
fear of being replaced even though they have to
take the same efforts as their male counterpart. The
research concluded that female lead actors get paid
less because of the less commercial success of
female centric films.