Sarah Silverman, Equal Payback Project Video (2014)

Sarah Silverman, Equal Payback Project Video (2014)

Silverman has partnered with the National Women’s Law Center to make a  video for the Equal Payback Project; it aims to raise s total of $500,000 to support legislation that closes the wage gap. Five hundred thousand dollars is about how much a woman could lose over a lifetime of work for unequal pay. When you account for the nearly 69 million U.S. women in the workplace, the total lost wages come to about $29 trillion.

In the clip, Silverman opts for a sex change so she can avoid this “vagina tax” and make as much as her dude counterparts. Fake penises and descriptions of their smell abound in the video, so yeah, it’s NSFW.

The video is raising awareness in advance of the midterm elections. Eighty-seven percent of women voters say they support improving equal pay laws, according to a new poll by Lake Research Partners.

(Photo: Equal Payback Project)

‘The Mary Tyler Moore Show’: ‘The Good-Time News’ (1972)

‘The Mary Tyler Moore Show’: ‘The Good-Time News’ (1972)

To legions of working women who yearned for financial independence in the 1970s, the character of 30-something journalist Mary Richards was a role model. Not only did The Mary Tyler Moore Show focus on the changing nature of workplace relationships, but it also addressed equal pay, a progressive move at the time. In this episode, Mary learns that her predecessor made more than she does. When she asks her boss for a raise she doesn’t get what she seeks. But the plot was pretty in step with the time. The gender disparity in income peaked when this show was in its heyday. Incidentally, men earn less today than they did in 1972, when the numbers are adjusted for inflation.

(Photo: Hulu)

‘9 to 5’ (1980)

‘9 to 5’ (1980)

We’ve all had lousy bosses, but Dabney Coleman’s Franklin Hart Jr. is the apex of awful. He takes credit for his subordinates’ ideas while refusing to promote them and constantly subjects them to sexual advances, among other heinous moves. One of his cruelest acts is firing a female worker for talking about how much other employees make. This still happens today and will continue to as long as the Paycheck Fairness Act is stalled in the Senate. The legislation would protect employees from retaliation for raising concerns about gender-based wage discrimination. Until it becomes law, we’ll have to settle for justice like that served up in this classic revenge fantasy.

(Photo: Wikipedia/Creative Commons)

Leslie Knope, ‘Parks and Recreation’ (2009–)

Leslie Knope, ‘Parks and Recreation’ (2009–)

There is no end to this small-town politician’s quirky badassery, including her love of waffles and Joe Biden. Whether her fellow city council members keep track of her menstrual cycles or she loses out to her male boss for an award for helping women, Leslie, who is played by Amy Poehler, faces a barrage of sexism as she tries to ascend the political ladder. But she also proves that individuals can make a difference. By forming a commission on gender equality and addressing underrepresentation in government, she inspires women everywhere to take action.

(Photo: Youtube)

‘Venus Vs.’ (2013)

‘Venus Vs.’ (2013)

You don’t have to labor at minimum wage or in middle management to feel the sting of unequal pay. Even women at the top of their game, such as Venus Williams, have suffered under sexist pay policies in sports. This documentary follows Williams’ 2005 effort to get Wimbledon to pay female champions as much as their male counterparts receive in prize money. Along with former tennis stars Billy Jean King and Chris Evert, Williams took her fight to the UK Parliament and UNESCO and wrote an op-ed for The London Times that won over Tony Blair. The gambit paid off in a big way: By 2007, Wimbledon and the French Open both were awarding male and female champions equally. The victory was especially sweet for Williams, who won Wimbledon that year. 

(Photo: Youtube)

Funny or Die, ‘Mary Poppins Quits With Kristen Bell’ (2014)

Funny or Die, ‘Mary Poppins Quits With Kristen Bell’ (2014)

In this “Spoonful of Sugar” spoof, Mary Poppins is embodied by Kristen Bell, who voices the frustration of fellow caregivers, fast-food workers, and other hourly workers who toil for a pittance. Be warned: This is not the docile Miss P. you recall from childhood. No, Poppins is pissed and ready to serve her [pink slip wrong term] because $7 an hour is hardly a living wage. You try pulling a lamp out of a handbag and making cartoon birds appear on demand on that income! It’s not an equal-pay video per se, but raising the minimum wage is certainly a gender issue. Today two-thirds of minimum wage workers as well as two-thirds of workers in tipped occupations are women.

(Photo: Youtube)

Funny or Die, ‘Modern Office’ (2014)

Funny or Die, ‘Modern Office’ (2014)

Mad Men’s Joan Holloway, played by Christina Hendricks, has always been a woman after our own hearts. She’s got incredible style and suffers nary a fool. But like many working women in the ’60s (and now, for that matter), she struggles to get compensation on par with her skills. Hendricks reprises her role as a ’60s secretary in this video that shows just how little progress has been made since the Equal Pay Act was enacted in 1963. Her millennial coworkers may be astonished at her lack of tech fluency, but she’s got a thing or two to teach the young’uns. She’s got a point: If the pay gap is still alive and well, why shouldn’t the three-martini lunch still be a thing? 

(Photo: Youtube)

‘Scandal' (2014)

‘Scandal' (2014)

Surprisingly, the gladiator crusading for equal pay legislation this season is not Kerry Washington’s Olivia Pope. Not that she wouldn’t want to white knight that cause, but Pope is too busy trying to deal with the hydra that is B-613. No, the champion here is Tony Goldwyn’s Fitz, the Republican president—which is more than a little ironic given that in real life the GOP was responsible for the September defeat of the Paycheck Fairness Act. It’s not clear how the issue will shake out on the small screen, but let’s hope Fitz’s conviction on this issue is like his fixation on Liv: fiery and undying. 

(Photo: Hulu)

‘Cristela’ (2014)

‘Cristela’ (2014)

In this new series, comedian Cristela Alonzo plays a law student learning the legal ropes by interning for free, much to her family’s consternation. The recent episode “Equal Pay” explores Cristela’s crisis of conscience when she’s asked to work on a case that upholds unequal pay for ladies. She also learns that her sister has been making more money than her husband has for years, which troubles the waters at home. It’s admirable that a fledgling sitcom is tackling these issues in just its fourth episode. They’re of particular importance to her audience: Hispanic women make only 55 cents for every dollar that men earn. 

(Photo: Youtube)