L.A. Times food critic Patricia Escárcega accuses paper of pay discrimination

On Sunday night, Los Angeles Times food critic Patricia Escárcega posted a thread on Twitter, accusing the publication of “immoral, unethical” pay discrimination. In her statement, she said that her salary was two-thirds of that paid to her co-critic—a white man with whom she shared the same title and responsibilities. Escárcega, a Latinx woman, said that the discrepancy was antithetical to the paper’s recent, purported efforts to examine its mistreatment of people of color, both internally and in its reporting. In a statement, Los Angeles Times disputed the allegation, and said that restaurant critic Bill Addison’s higher compensation is due to his having more experience and winning more journalism awards. (Addison himself has called on the paper to pay Escárcega equally, as did former restaurant editor Ruth Reichl, who shared her own experience of gendered pay discrimination at the paper.) Los Angeles magazine has the story.