Who would you say is more successful : Academy Award nominee Leonardo DiCaprio , or Academy Award nominee Meryl Streep ? In terms of numbers of memorable -- even legendary -- screen roles , it might be difficult to say . And in terms of lasting power , they both have grown in reputation over the years . But in terms of most recent earning for the year 2012-2013 , the winner is clear : Leonardo Di Caprio , age 39 , earned $ 39 million in pay while Meryl Streep , age 64 , earned only $ 7 million . ( One caveat : Their earnings are also influenced by the box office success of their films . ) Sure , that 's just one year and those are just two stars . But if we look across the board , we ca n't help but come to the same conclusion : There 's an unfair pay disparity in Hollywood . As we look forward to this year 's Academy Awards show on Sunday night , it 's worth taking a moment to reflect on the movie industry and what it tells us about ourselves . Research that my colleagues Irene de Pater , Brent Scott and I conducted shows that whereas young Hollywood actors and actresses make about the same in yearly earnings , that parity quickly evaporates as they age . According to our study , for actresses , their pay peaks at age 34 and then drops quickly thereafter . For actors , their pay peaks at a much later age -- 51 -- and just as importantly , does not drop after that nearly as severely as it does for actresses . We measured leading actors and actresses over many years . At age 27 , actresses make an average of $ 3.9 million , compared to $ 2.6 million for actors . By the age of 51 , actors make an average of $ 5.3 million , more than five times as much as actresses . Why is it that age ravages the earnings of actresses compared to actors ? Some might blame Hollywood movie industry -- a field that is overwhelmingly male dominated . Some might argue that female actresses are more likely to take breaks from acting at the potential peak of their careers , as have Natalie Portman , Emily Blunt and Drew Barrymore . While there probably is some merit to these explanations , I think we need to look closer to home . To borrow from Pogo , I 've met the enemy , and he is us . Let 's face it , we 're an appearance-based society and despite social progress on many issues , I do n't see much evidence that our obsession with appearance has faded over time . Indeed , some have argued that the growth in online communication and social media has only exacerbated the problem . Some may feel that our obsession with beauty is a problem because it 's superficial , it 's hard to change , or it is n't related to true intrinsic worth ( for example , a job or a mate ) . Yet we know that we value beauty even though it is hard to justify the value we place on it . It 's more insidious than that . Our beauty obsession particularly gets applied to women ( who are more likely to be judged by their appearance than men ) and against older individuals ( people are rated as less physically attractive as they age ) . We are , therefore , especially biased against older women . Tell me about it , some of you more mature women may say . It 's important to remember that this is n't simply about male biases . Those exist , but so do female biases . Both men and women judge others by their appearance , and both genders are more likely to be especially biased against less attractive women and older individuals . Who 's really to blame here ? Is it Hollywood , or those of us who consume Hollywood culture ? There is plenty of blame to go around . Hollywood , like Washington , both leads and follows society . In commenting on this disparity , Tina Fey said , in her characteristically satirical way , `` There are still great parts in Hollywood for Meryl Streeps over 60 . '' Judging by the current list of Best Actor/Actress nominees , including near-octogenarian Judi Dench , Fey is correct . In fact , some might say the Best Actor/Actress nominees are on the aged side , with none in their 20s , three in their 30s ( one woman , two men ) , four in their 40s ( two men , two women ) , and three older ( two women , one man ) . But the earnings do n't follow , and the roles for older females are generally not as available , we found in our study . Even 83-year-old Clint Eastwood recognizes the problem , commenting , `` Roles thin out when ( actresses ) get to a certain age . ... It 's a crime . '' The first step toward social change is to recognize the problem . We 've got a beauty complex that does us little good and much harm . The sooner we own up to that , the sooner we can defeat that enemy within us . As we enjoy the glamor of Hollywood at this time of year , all those beautiful people dressed to the nines should remind us : There is a lot more to life than looks . Let 's confront our own biases that support this culture , and try harder to value the things that really matter .
Timothy Judge : Hollywood actors and actresses make about the same until they age . Judge : Actresses ' pay peaks at about age 34 whereas actor pay peaks around 40 . He says we can blame Hollywood , but it 's also that our society is obsessed with beauty . Judge : Both genders are competing against less attractive women and older people .