More than half of the respondents to a recent survey of fashion models said they do not have enough money to cover essential needs if they are unable to work during the next three months as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Additionally, more than half said they are owed money by their clients or agencies – with a third saying they’re owed money by both.

The findings are reported in “Fashioning a Response: Results from the Model Alliance COVID-19 Survey and a Call to Action,” published April 22 by Model Alliance, a labor rights nonprofit. The report was co-authored by Sanjay Pinto, a fellow at the ILR School’s Worker Institute, and Phoebe Strom, a doctoral student in the field of international programs.

Models frequently confront issues in the workplace, from wage theft and sexual harassment to unhealthy working conditions and a lack of protections allowing them to seek recourse for unfair treatment. And as the coronavirus crisis has grown in recent weeks, problems faced by models have been exacerbated.

The report is based on a survey of 212 working models canvassed by the Model Alliance, and incl­udes analysis by the Worker Institute detailing how the coronavirus has affected the modeling community.

“The Model Alliance COVID-19 Survey provides a window into the devastating toll of this crisis on workers who are misclassified as independent contractors, and stripped of fundamental rights,” Pinto said. “We need to use this moment to ensure universal access to key labor and social protections now and in the future.”  

One in five respondents said they do not currently have enough money, and less than one-third of respondents said they had received guidance, assistance or resources from their agencies in response to the pandemic.

“What the pandemic has exposed is the degree to which standard agency practices, particularly those related to payment and agency fees, leave models vulnerable to exploitation and economic precarity,” Strom said. “We hope that our findings provide a blueprint for agencies seeking to do the right thing to create a more humane, equitable modeling industry.”

The pandemic has also worsened the industry’s racial disparities, according to the survey.

Among white models – the majority of survey participants – 86% said they could afford basic necessities, while respondents of color – black respondents, in particular – were more likely to say they weren’t able to afford basic needs, both at the time of the survey and following three additional months without income.

“The racial disparities highlighted in these survey results are a call to action,” said KC Wagner, co-chair of the Equity at Work Initiative at the Worker Institute. Wagner was not a co-author of the report. “We need to center the unique challenges confronting communities of color as we respond to this crisis and try to come out stronger on the other side.”

Recommendations include asking that modeling agencies suspend agency fees for the duration of the crisis; ensure that models are paid what they are owed for outstanding invoices; provide timely and accurate information and resources on safety and health protections; and provide access to benefits to models they represent.

Julie Greco is a communications specialist with the ILR School.