Forty-Six Years Later, We're Still Working 9 to 5

I was born in 1980, the same year 9 to 5 hit theaters.

I watched it recently when it popped up on Netflix. I didn’t expect much beyond some vague nostalgia of watching it as a little girl, but within minutes I was completely hooked. I’d forgotten just how unapologetically feminist it was. It’s sharp, it’s funny, it’s outrageous—and disturbingly relevant.

Women having to remind men that they’re women, not girls. Women carefully navigating sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot men in positions of power. Women playing it safe, keeping their mouths shut, trying not to ruffle feathers just to keep their jobs.

Forty-six years later, we’re still having so many of the same conversations.

And there was one moment near the end that hit me like a slap in the face.

After all the workplace improvements the women secretly put in place, the chairman of the board shows up. He loves the changes. Productivity is up, morale is better, and he's thrilled. Of course, a man gets all the credit.

But there's one change he won't accept.

Equal pay.

“That equal pay thing, though, that's got to go.”

The chairman boldly dismisses equal pay as though it's an unreasonable request. Everything else is wonderful, but actually paying women equally? Absolutely not.

Are you kidding me?!

And here we are, 46 years later, still not there.

In 1980, women earned about 60 cents for every dollar earned by men. Today, women still earn only around 80 cents on the dollar.

That's better, sure. But better isn't equal. And equal is the standard.

I've heard older women say, “You have it so much better than we did.” And yes, I can hold gratitude for their fight. The women who came before us pushed open doors, challenged laws, demanded rights, and refused to accept the limitations imposed on them.

But are we supposed to stop fighting because things got slightly less unequal? When did better become good enough?

Gratitude for progress doesn't mean accepting crumbs as a feast.

Forty-six years is a long time to still be fighting for the same basic right.

And it's not as if we didn't know. We've known.

Women built careers, entered professions once closed to them, and became breadwinners. Women adapted to a workforce that never fully adapted to them.

Why are we still here?

That's the question I can't shake. Not why things are better, but why full equality still isn't here.

It's not because equality is impossible. It's not because the ship is too big to turn.

It's because we still live in a patriarchy. And systems of power don't dismantle themselves.

That became painfully clear watching 9 to 5 . The chairman was perfectly happy to embrace changes that benefited the company. But the moment equality required giving women an equal share of the money, the answer was no.

And what makes this all the more fascinating—and depressing—is that right now I'm working on a conceptual art project about the gender wage gap.

Of all the movies to revisit, at all the moments in my life, it was this one. Now.

The Wage Gap, Marriage and Divorce Archives by Natasha Bacca

My work explores how social, legal, and economic structures shape our most intimate experiences. And the wage gap isn't just a number on a paycheck.

It follows us home. It shapes marriages, parenting, independence, security, and the choices available to us over a lifetime.

We talk about a few missing cents on the dollar, but those cents add up to entire lives. Consider a woman earning $50,000 while a man earns $62,500—a ratio of 80 cents on the dollar. That's $12,500 less every year. Over a 40-year career, that's half a million dollars in lost earnings—not even counting the potential impact on retirement savings, investments, or long-term financial security.

Half a million dollars.

That's a house. A retirement cushion. Financial independence. The ability to leave an unhealthy marriage. Options. Security. Freedom.

And yet, in modern relationships, women are often expected to contribute equally financially. Split the mortgage. Split the bills. Split the cost of raising children.

But how can we be expected to contribute equally when we aren't earning equally?

We're not even playing by the same rules.

And that's precisely why the wage gap belongs in a conversation about marriage and divorce. Financial inequality shapes power within relationships. It affects who can afford to leave, who has the freedom to choose, and the possibilities available when relationships end.

Here I am, 46 years after 9 to 5 , making artwork about the same injustice that movie called out.

It's fascinating. It's absurd. And it's depressing.

I can appreciate how far we've come without pretending we've arrived.

We don't need another 46 years of congratulating ourselves for incremental progress.

We need equality.