Costume Designers Guild Wins Nationwide Support for Gender Pay Equity Demands

March 6. 2024

For Immediate Release
Mar 6, 2024

Media Contact
Nazirah Ahmad
[email protected]

Equal Rights Advocates, National Organization for Women, Feminist Majority Foundation, Black Feminist Future, Justice for Migrant Women, Labor Council for Latin American Advancement & More Sign Letter of Solidarity Supporting Pay Equity for the CDG

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA — The Costume Designers Guild Local 892 Pay Equity Now Committee has just announced that they’ve gained nationwide support for their gender pay equity demands ahead of upcoming IATSE negotiations with AMPTP scheduled to begin March 4, 2024.

An overwhelming number of the top labor and women’s rights groups and organizations, as well as prominent individuals, have signed on to a formal statement supporting gender pay equity for Costume Designers. Signatures on this statement, crafted by the CDG Pay Equity Now Committee in partnership with the Equal Rights Advocates organization, include the National Organization for Women, Rosanna Arquette, the Feminist Majority Foundation, Black Feminist Future, Justice for Migrant Women, Mira Sorvino, the Public Justice Center, National Center for Law and Economic Justice, the National Employment Law Project, the California Women’s Law Center, LCLAA (Labor Council for Latin American Advancement) and ERA Coalition. 

“Our team at Equal Rights Advocates immediately saw the need for action after speaking with the Costume Designers Guild about the pay inequities they’ve been facing for years. We could not let this group of majority-women professionals go unheard in their advocacy for gender pay equity, and are excited to secure the support of so many other amazing social justice organizations and advocates,” noted Noreen Farrell, Executive Director of Equal Rights Advocates. 

“It is not a coincidence that a guild that has historically been made-up of women sits near the bottom of the IATSE pay scale,” said Co-Chair of the Pay Equity Now Steering Committee, Ariyela Wald-Cohain. “Compared to our male-dominated creative department head counterparts, costume design department heads make nearly 45% less.” 

The Costume Designers Guild is ready for a new age, one that prioritizes women and diverse professionals by equitably paying them for their crucial contributions to Hollywood and the entertainment world. Reflective of a much larger conversation already being had around women’s rights in Hollywood, the Costume Designers Guild is equipped with the tools and social support necessary to lead the charge on equitable pay.

Read Equal Rights Advocates x CDG’s Letter of Solidarity for equitable pay here.