Directed by award-winning filmmaker Yu Gu, “A Woman’s Work: The NFL’s Cheerleader Problem” sheds light on the continued fight to end the gender pay gap prevalent throughout the National Football League.
For over 50 years, the NFL has employed cheerleaders — women who are lifelong athletes expected to both maintain a peak physical condition and fulfill extreme beauty standards. Many of these athletes however, have been historically underpaid, with some earning as little as $5 an hour, while others are never paid a salary at all.
In her film, Gu chronicles the journeys of cheerleaders from the Oakland Raiders (now the Las Vegas Raiders) and the Buffalo Bills, each of whom put their careers on the line to take legal action and fight for fair pay.
Commended as “authentic” by Sports Illustrated and “defiant...persuasive” by Variety, “A Woman’s Work” premieres on INDEPENDENT LENS on Jan. 4, 2021.
Born in China and raised in Canada, Gu became fascinated with the spectacle and narratives of American football upon moving to Los Angeles.
Originally viewing football as a metaphor for the American dream — extreme competition and just rewards for hard work — the more Gu learned about the institution behind it, the more evident the structural inequality baked within the sport became.
Through the stories of two women in particular — Lacy, a former cheerleader for the Oakland Raiders and mother of three and Maria, a former Buffalo Bills cheerleader, both of whom take up the grueling fight for fair pay against the NFL — Gu paints a vivid picture of gender inequality at the heart of America’s favorite pastime.
In high-stakes lawsuits and in the harshly divided court of public opinion, Lacy and Maria take a stand, denouncing the NFL’s unfair labor practices and employment contracts riddled with illegal provisions.
In the midst of their legal battles, both women also encourage their peers to speak out as well, leading to nearly a dozen NFL teams becoming subject to federal complaints and/or being sued by their cheerleaders for everything from wage theft to gender discrimination over the next several years.
Featuring interviews with former NFL cheerleaders — some who have filed lawsuits against and others who stand staunchly in support of the NFL — their family members, and labor lawyers, "A Woman’s Work" weaves sharp cultural exposé with personal journeys of empowerment.
“This film is about women’s fight for value in the workplace,” said Gu. “I wanted to show the work these women put in behind the spectacle, and the unjust environment where this work takes place. By breaking down what’s happening in this cultural monolith that is the NFL, we aim to shine a light on how gender inequality operates at an institutional level, and inspire audiences to follow in the footsteps of these brave women who are fighting to end it. With a platform like INDEPENDENT LENS, we’re hopeful that we can educate communities and spark conversations all over the U.S. on this issue as women continue to fight against inequality in all spheres of life today.”
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Credits:
Director: Yu Gu. Producers: Yu Gu and Elizabeth Ai. Co-Producer: Jin Yoo-Kim. Writer: Elizabeth Ai. Cinematographer: Yu Gu. Editor: Victoria Chalk. Composer: Allyson Newman. Sound Designer and Mixer: Sung Rok Choi. Executive Producers: Sally Jo Fifer and Lois Vossen.
