More than 3,000 people, including prominent director Ava DuVernay and actors Sterling K. Brown and Jane Fonda, have signed a letter calling on the entertainment industry to end the wage gap between male and female production workers in Hollywood.
The letter has not yet been delivered to large studios and industry officials, but there are plans to distribute it once it receives more signatures.
The effort is being spearheaded by the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) Local 871.
In June, the union commissioned a study which found that female-dominated crafts in the film and television industry -- like script supervisors and art department coordinators -- are routinely paid hundreds or even thousands of dollars less than their male counterparts.
"There’s been a conversation happening in Hollywood for quite a while about the issue of pay equity for women actors," says Leslie Simon, who works as a Business Representative with the union. "However, the issue of below-the-line women has not been part of that dialogue at all."