(미국/여성) 미국내 남성의 임금과 동등한 임금을 요구하는 스타 영화여배우와 여성 수학전문가

출처: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-36327826

Robin Wright: A movie star and a maths expert fight for equal pay

By Rajini VaidyanathanBBC News, Washington

• 19 May 2016
 
• From the sectionUS & Canada

Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES

House of Cards star Robin Wright has revealed she demanded the same pay as her co-star Kevin Spacey - but what does fighting for equal wages look like for women who are not movie stars?

She plays a no-nonsense character in House of Cards, and in real life Robin Wright is no different.

For four seasons, viewers have seen her in the role of Claire Underwood, the Machiavellian partner of stop-at-nothing politician, Frank Underwood, played by Kevin Spacey. (stop-at-nothing: 원하는 걸 얻기 위해 무슨 짓도 다하다) (밝은 하늘: 한국의 많은 정치인들이 바로 stop-at-nothing politician 아닌가?)

Both actors have also directed and produced episodes of the show. But while their roles are equally prominent, for years their salaries were not in parity. (parity: 보수나 지위의 동등함. demand pay parity with~)

"I was like, 'I want to be paid the same as Kevin.' It was a perfect paradigm and example to use, because there are very few films or TV shows where the male—the patriarch and the matriarch are equal. And they are in House of Cards," she told an audience at New York's Rockefeller Foundation.

Wright looked at statistics which showed that for some time, her character was more popular than Spacey's.

"So I capitalised on it. I was like, 'You better pay me or I'm going to go public…and they did.'" (capitalize on: 좀 더 이익을 얻기 위해 ~을 이용하다. 활용하다) (go public: 비밀을 공개하다)

Image copyrightJENNIFER GRAYLOCK

Image captionRobin Wright talks about fighting for equal pay

Wright's success at equalising her pay is a story to be noted, because it is still incredibly rare. 그녀는 비록 남성 동료배우와 동등한 임금을 받아내는데 성공했기 때문에 주목할만 하지만, 이 경우는 아직도 믿기지 않을 정도로 드문 경우에 해당. (밝은 하늘: 미국내 일반 기업체의 경우는 모르겠으나, 적어도 연예계에서 남녀 배우들간에 임금차가 크다는 사실은 확실히 드러나는 구절임.)

"She is playing a popular and important character in a series. She has leverage and she used it," says Lisa Maatz, vice president for government relations at the American Association of University Women (AAUW), which has conducted research into the broader issue. (leverage: 지렛대 사용, 영향력. lever: 레버, 지렛대)

"I admire her for standing up to them. Not everybody is going to be as fortunate. But her situation in terms of being underpaid is far too common."

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Media captionA history of the gender pay gap

US government statistics show that on average, women are paid less than their male counterparts, 79 cents for every dollar a man earns. 미국정부의 통계에 따르면, 평균적으로 여성들은 남성 동료들이 1$를 벌 때 79센트만 받는다. 즉 미국여성들은 남성 임금의 5분의 4만 받는다는 뜻.

According to the White House, the median wage of a woman working full-time all year in America is about $39,600 (£27,116), 79% of a man's median earnings, which stand at $50,400. (median wage: 여성의 중간치 연봉은 남성의 중간치 연봉의 79%인 $39,600, 남성의 중간치 연봉은 $50,400임.

The statistic is widely used to illustrate the discrepancy in pay across the sexes, and looks across all sectors. (discrepancy: 차이, 불일치) 미국 內 모든 부문에서 남녀간 임금의 격차가 나타난다는 뜻.

In Fresno, California, Aileen Rizo took a similar stand against her employer after she learned she was receiving less pay than a new male employee, who didn't have a masters degree like she did.

Ms Rizo had been working as a maths consultant for four years for Fresno County Office of Education, when she found out that the new hire was being paid at the highest salary scale (a nine), while she was being paid at the lowest (a one).

Image captionAileen Rizo brought a complaint against unequal wages

When she confronted her human resources department about the difference, she was told it wasn't a mistake. "They said they'd used my prior pay as a guide, and that's why I was on less," she explained.

Ms Rizo began legal action against her employers in 2013, who argued they set wages based on the employee's most recent salary, plus a five percent increase. Experience wasn't a determining factor, they said.

Representatives for Fresno County pointed out that a woman working in the same department as Ms Rizo, was being paid more, and said that in the past 25 years more women had been on higher salary scales, than men in the same or similar position in the department. (salary scale: 호봉)

The court ruled in Ms Rizo's favour, arguing that the fact another woman earned more than her, shouldn't diminish her right to a fair wage. Her employers appealed the decision, and the case is still ongoing. (appeal the decision: 판결에 불복하여 항소하다)

Since she began her lawsuit, Ms Rizo is now receiving the same pay as her male colleague, but she continues to fight for backdated wages. She also testified before the California legislature, which has since passed an Equal Pay Act in the state. (legislature: 입법부, 의회)

While she believes employers need to be more transparent and fair, she does also think women could also do more.

"We do need to get better at negotiating. I was trusting an organisation to act in a way of integrity. I took for granted that that's where everyone started."

Image captionRizo with her family

"Whether you have to file a lawsuit or demand it and get it, women need to empower others and educate society about a problem that's still evident," she says. 밝은 하늘: 미국같은 나라도 남녀 임금 차이가 크다면, 다른 나라는 말해서 뭐하랴?

But the scale of the problem is something which is widely debated.

Some critics say the "79 cents for every dollar" statistic is misleading, because it doesn't compare two people working in the same job, with the same background and qualifications. When those factors are taken into account, there still is a gender pay gap, but the percentage difference is much smaller, at around 7%.

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Media captionFormer US Soccer star: 'There are no more excuses' for unequal pay

"The idea that when a young woman graduates, the idea she's going to get paid 79 cents for every dollar a man makes, working in the same job, across our economy is a myth," argues Karin Agness, who is president of the Network of Enlightened Women, a conservative policy group.

Ms Agness believes that the 79 cents statistic gives young graduates a false impression of the workplace they're about to enter.

"It creates a victim mentality in women, and we don't want our young women going into the workforce thinking they are victims just because they are women," she says.

But Lisa Maatz from the AAUW says both measures are valid - one is more general, the other specifically compares similar roles - but both point to a discrepancy which needs to be addressed.

"The gender wage gap has many causes and contributors, including differences in education, experience, occupation and industry, and family responsibilities. But even after accounting for these factors, a gap still remains between men's earnings and women's earnings," argues a White House report on the issue.

Data on the pay gap for Hispanic and black women shows greater disparities. The gap between similar jobs fluctuates wildly based on the sector. And even controlling for similar jobs, the gap grows for women who are promoted into the director and executive level. (disparity: 격차, 차이) (fluctuate: 변동하다) 

For Ms Maatz, there are other areas which also need to be addressed when it comes to wage disparity, for example the rise of so-called "pink collar" jobs, in which certain roles such as nurses, secretaries and teachers, are devalued simply because more women do them.

But Robin Wright's experience is a reminder that the gender pay gap affects women across all professions. She hopes her example will encourage other women to speak up.

"It's a male dominant workplace society. It always has been. And that's just the history.

"But it has to be unacceptable at this stage."

** 기사에 대한 소감 **

1. 아직 전문을 읽지 않은 상태라, 분명히 말할 수는 없지만, 전에 본 오스카상 관련 기사에서도 남녀 배우간의 임금차가 크다는 사실을 읽은 기억이 난다.

2. 한국만 남녀 임금차별이 존재하는 게 아니다. 미국 같은 선진국에서도 남녀 임금격차가 크다는 얘기는 다른 선진국에서도 비슷하지 않을까 하는 생각을 한다면, 지나친 일반화일지는 모르겠으나, 아직까지 지구상에는 남녀 임금격차가 존재한다는 사실만큼은 인정할 수 있겠다.

3. 남녀의 임금격차가 사라지고, 남녀 가사분담 육아분담이 50대 50이 된다고 하여, 남녀평등이 이뤄지는 건 아니다. 남녀평등은 에시당초부터 불가능하다. 남녀존중은 가능해도 산술적인 의미에서 남녀평등은 불가능하며, 가능하다해도 의미가 없다. 세상이 절대 평등해질 수 없듯이 말이다.

4. 미국도 남녀간 임금격차가 분명히 존재한다는 사실을 재확인했다. 미국도 그렇다면, 하물며, 다른 나라는 어떻겠는가? 한국은 예외일 수 있을까?