Comedian Jacinta Ocansey has revealed facing discrimination in the creative arts industry due to her gender.
In an interview on Joy FM’s Showbiz A-Z with Kwame Dadzie, the stand-up comedian and actress disclosed instances where she received lower pay compared to her male counterparts solely because she is a woman.
Jacinta recounted turning down roles in the past after discovering that her male colleagues were offered significantly higher compensation for the same project.
“I mean our industry is so small such that I could pick up my phone and call my colleagues and say ‘Guy how far these people are calling have they called you?
“So what figures are we playing with so that all appear to be on the same page? And then I realized that okay I’m being offered GH¢5 and offering other people GH¢10.”
“I’ve turned out offers before because I know that you’re paying others way more I am aware that you’re paying others way more whatever it is,” Jacinta said.
She emphasised that she has declined offers when she felt undervalued adding it is up to her to bargain for bigger pay in these situations and quietly turn down offers should they not meet her requirements.
Jacinta highlighted some unfair treatment including being denied opportunities with one event organizer citing women as “difficult to manage.”
She stated that it is unfair that women in the industry are being measured not based on their qualifications and abilities but on their gender.
She said “I think it’s funny when people say that ‘because you are a woman is easier for you in the industry’.
“No, it’s actually tougher when you’re a woman. How many people want to sleep with a man before they help him?”
Source; Fiilafmonline/JoyNewsEntertainment
