It has long been an area of contention that women make less, on average, than men do at the same jobs–an estimated 22% less, to be exact–and while that number has gone down by about 6% in the past ten years, the gap is still fairly wide in the wage war.
An organization called EqualPayDay is working to change all that, however, with their annual movement to gain awareness of the problem. March 20th marks the eighth year in a row for EqualPayDay, a day on which “manifestations will again take place in various public places and in firms”, according to the information on their site.
In order to spread the word about the topic, adult film actress Sasha Grey has worked with the organization to make a short video for YouTube in which she talks about getting into the business at a young age and the things she does in order to make more money than a man. The video contends that “porn is about the only way for a woman to make more than a man”. EqualPayDay’s mission, according to their site, is to “draw young people’s attention to today”–that is, get them to think about the future by doing what’s best now, such as getting a good education and focusing on a career plan. Grey, who is one of many celebrities who are active in social media these days, has talked about her role in various causes such as EqualPayDay and “Read Across America” on her Google+ and Twitter accounts.
While Ms. Grey is proud of her own work in film, she also openly backs the initiative of EqualPayDay and the cause they support. The organization’s motto this year is “Close the wage gap: become a porn actress”, which will be distributed on flyers and posters to spread awareness.
Below is the video, featuring Sasha talking about her experiences. Warning: the video shows a bit of blurry nudity and has language that is a little more graphic than what is usually deemed appropriate at work.
