Jennifer Lawrence gave a surprise speech about the gender pay gap Thursday at a pre-Oscars event hosted by Patricia Arquette, according to Variety. The two actresses have recently become two of the most outspoken feminists in the entertainment world, and their voices are desperately needed in an industry that can be slow to change its ways.
In fact, Variety reported that Arguette sponsored a petition to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment, which initially gained the support of 35 of the 38 states it needed to be federally ratified in the 1970s. At her event, Arquette asked Lawrence to give an impromptu speech about the gender wage gap, a topic Lawrence is familiar with after writing a letter on the subject for actress Lena Dunham’s e-newsletter, “Lenny Letter.”
In her open letter, Lawrence addressed the 2015 Sony email hack and asked why she made less than her male co-stars. Her letter was filled with her personal feelings about how her gender plays a role in business meetings and how the Sony hack revealed that she was being paid far less than her male counterparts. In the letter, Lawrence also made a great point by writing, “It’s hard for me to speak about my experience as a working woman because I can safely say my problems aren’t exactly relatable.”
That’s true. Lawrence is not economically relatable, despite being one of the first celebrities widely perceived as relatable. This quality comes from her professed love of carbs and public gaffs, not from her tax bracket or talent. Lawrence is a woman who misspeaks, as shown at the 2016 Golden Globes, and as a public figure, she carries a large amount of social influence — particularly on the young demographic who watched her in “The Hunger Games” franchise.
Despite her higher economic status, the theme of being a woman mistreated by her employers and paid less than men of equal accomplishment and role is a theme that, unfortunately, more than enough women can relate to.
According to the American Association of University Women, full-time working women made only 79 percent of what men made in 2014. Women of color face an even bigger pay gap to overcome, and the gap has made little improvement over the past decade.
As Arquette told USA TODAY, “When we talk about pay inequality it’s not about Hollywood pay inequality. It’s not about actresses’ pay inequality; it’s about 98 [percent] of the industry has inequality,” she said. “It’s not just about lack of diversity in film, it’s the lack of diversity in CEOs and boardrooms and any position of power. There’s a bigger conversation to be had about power-sharing.”
There is a bigger conversation to be had about power-sharing, and Hollywood has finally begun to have it. As was made more than evident this past year, Hollywood is a male-dominated industry that often overlooks minorities. #OscarsSoWhite, the discussion on the all-white acting nominees for the 2016 Academy Awards, sparked a larger conversation on why there are not enough roles for people of color.
These conversations and speeches by outspoken celebrities play an important role in changing one of the most influential industries in the United States. Without those who start dialogues, such as actress Jada Pinkett Smith or the woman who coined #OscarsSoWhite, April Reign, there is nothing to talk about.
The celebrities, however problematic they may be at times — please refrain from scolding journalists, J. Law — are nonetheless important in fights in which so many of us are involved. When those with powerful voices use them to create positive change, the benefits can be felt outside of Hollywood. Their voices reach a large audience with ease, and with the support of those allied with their cause, these celebrities can become useful spokespeople in the fight for equality.
While Arquette, Lawrence and countless other Hollywood figures fight to change the industry that they and working-class women inhabit, their fight speaks to a larger social injustice that needs addressing. The 40th anniversary of the last state ratifying the Equal Rights Amendment is coming up in a few years. As of now, women in the United States are not guaranteed equal protection under the Constitution. There is still work that needs to be done in the fight for gender equality, and people from Hollywood to Washington D.C. play important roles in this fight.
