A number of studies worldwide have shown that women in professional roles are often paid less than their male colleagues. Amy Pascal, former co-chairman of Sony Pictures, feels this is mainly because women don’t ‘ask for more pay’.

A cyber-attack on Sony Pictures last December threw the spotlight on the big pay gap between genders at the firm. Data showed that among those who earned a pay of $1 million or more at Sony Pictures — which has a workforce of over 6,000 — there was only one woman for every 16 men.

Big divide

There is a yawning chasm between the salaries of female and male film stars too. Asked why women lead actors were paid less, Pascal stirred up a hornet’s nest by saying: “I run a business. People want to work for less money, I’ll pay them less money. I don’t call them up and go — can I give you some more?”

She is, however, of the view that women “should know what they’re worth. Women shouldn’t take less.”

“Stop, you don’t need the job that bad,” she said in an interview last week.

The leaked emails released last December had showed Pascal making racist jokes about President Barack Obama. The revelation led to her being ‘fired’ early this month from the position she held since September 2006. She publicly apologised for her comments.

But the leak had its benefits too. Actress Charlize Theron negotiated a pay hike of $10 million, on par with her male counterpart, last month. As for Pascal, she is set to start her own company, focused on movies, television and theatre.

Sony Pictures will fund the venture and retain all distribution rights worldwide to the films financed.

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