[Long post] Pay Parity - and it isn't just about the pay

This post references and continues the discussion on Rafael Nadal's comment about women getting paid more in fashion.

As someone with 50% of their career in fashion, I can say it's not just modeling (that's the image people have). There are many industries within fashion – e-commerce, manufacturing, modeling, boutiques, etc

Fashion is labor-intensive, so competition drives down pay. Yes, there are more women in fashion, not necessarily earning more. It's a loop – more women want to work where other women are, even if the money is less. There's a sense of security and comfort.

A huge part of fashion works in manufacturing, you know, the clothes we wear. So many women work at the junior level, running around the factory floors getting things done. They are paid 10-15k a month. The men are paid about 20-25k starting salary. I had 3 girls and 1 boy in my team; they managed on-ground ops for different brands. But when there's night overtime in the factory, who stays late to oversee the work? The boy! And who got the orders out "working overtime" on these brands – the boy! Who deserves a raise – obviously the boy!

Lack of appreciation in words and money, physically draining work (more stories there), fewer promotions, and male-dominated labor that doesn't want to "listen to women," combined with family pressure to get married - all these lead women to drop out of the workforce.

Even if you want to talk only about modeling, women models get paid more than male models. There's a reason here – who do you remember watching on FTV during childhood? How many of you took the risk of putting FTV on to watch male models? Women are paid more because they sell more.

Also, the models are just one, just one part of the fashion show. There's an entire team of underpaid people running around, fixing things last minute, ensuring the show is a success. Huge brands like Sabyasachi and Manish Malhotra pay 25-30k to NIFT Fashion Design grads, even in Mumbai.