Amitabh and Salman in Forbes rich list highlights gender discrimination

No Indian women and only 16 women make it to the world list of 100 celebrities

GN Bureau | June 30, 2015


#forbes   #amitabh bachchan   #salman khan   #akshay kumar   #ms dhoni  

Amitabh Bachchan, Salman Khan, Akshay Kumar and MS Dhoni have made it to the Forbes Celebrity 100 rankings based on their earnings. That is no surprise considering that they are superstars in their chosen field. But the surprise or the worrying fact is that no Indian woman has made it to the list and in the world list there are only 16 women in the list of 100. This is clearly due to gender discrimination both in social and financial terms. In simple language - the women are paid less than men but exploited more, professionally and in every household.

In this regard prime minister Narendra Modi’s selfie with daughters campaign makes immense sense. India and the world should relook at the society that is being created and change. Gender discrimination has no place in the 21st century.

The Forbes changed its norms for list tabulation and this made our superstars to crash into the list. It also reflects the growing clout of India on the world stage. The magazine, which has been releasing the  list every year since 1999, said given the profound changes in the entertainment world, it reworked its methodology and for the first time, made the list "truly international.”

“Instead of using US-centric power metrics, we are simply ranking the world's 100 highest-paid celebrities, regardless of nationality,” it said. The result is a more accurate reflection of the current entertainment landscape, a 21st century reality where Bollywood’s biggest stars (Salman Khan and Amitabh Bachchan, $33.5 million apiece) earn more than some Hollywood A-listers (Leonardo DiCaprio and Channing Tatum, $29 million apiece), the Forbes said.

Akshay with $32.5 million is placed 76th and Dhoni with $31 million is ranked 82nd.

American professional boxer Floyd Mayweather tops the list with $300 million in earnings, followed by Filipino iconic boxer Manny Pacquiao ($160 million).

Singer Katy Perry ($135 million), who is ranked no.3 on the list has been featured on the Forbes magazine cover. Along with Kate another female musician Taylor Swift made it to the top 10. After these two women at the top there are 14 other women in the list.

Kate Perry told Forbes. “I’m here to inspire other females.” Inspiration is okay, what the administration and the civil society needs is lots of sense to make gender discrimination a thing of past.

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