Help a Woman Artist Today?
Tēnā koutou katoa.
The gender pay gap in the arts is an old story. From 1980–1984 the determined women pictured tried to change that. And made a difference, thanks to government employment programmes, run by the Labour Department.
But forty years later, the latest figures show that women artists, including women writers, earn 21% less overall than men artists: 79 cents for every dollar a man artist earns. If only arts-related income is counted, the gap is an extraordinary 45%, 55 cents for every dollar (Creative New Zealand A Profile of Creative Professionals 2023, slide 9). I can’t find information about the intersections of gender and ethnicity for artists, but imagine that they’re similar to those that affect the whole population’s average hourly earnings (1).
Anecdotally, Covid made this worse. And not one of the MCH relief packages for artists referenced the gender pay gap and attempted to address it. As a result, women, who also often not only have more caring responsibilities than men — for children and for the elderly—and less time for their arts practices, are now less able to pay for dental and medical care, for transport including car repairs; and for appropriate work space.
And there are now more women artists than ever who can’t afford to repair or replace their computers. They have to manage large projects on their phones. If they don’t live within walking distance of a public library with computers, if libraries aren’t open at the only time they have available for their art work, they’re stuck. If library computers don’t have the programmes they need, they’re stuck. If they haven’t got smart phones, they’re truly stuck.
Have you upgraded your computer recently? Are you undecided about what to do with your still-in-excellent-condition old desktop or laptop computer or smart phone? Or do you know someone else with surplus equipment?
If so, please consider contacting Spiral on spiralcollectives76 [at] gmail.com. We’ll find a welcoming home for that surplus. And you’ll have done a beautiful thing.
(And if you’re a woman artist in need of some gear, we’d love to hear from you, too.)
Ngā mihi mō te tau hou!
(1)
The gender pay gap in August 2022 was 9.2%. The table below, from 2020, gives some idea of the ethniicity gaps.
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Poet, activist and lesbian feminist Heather McPherson founded Spiral in 1976. Anne Else’s Women Together project for the Ministry of Culture & Heritage provides Spiral and/or Women’s Gallery key information and references; and there’s more here at Spiral Collectives.
