Jessica Chastain has offered her views on the gender pay gap, revealing that she has walked away from films where she was not offered a fair deal.
Known for her roles in The Help and Interstellar, the 39-year-old actress is a self-proclaimed feminist and has frequently spoken out about sexism in the film industry.
In the past, the Sacramento-born star has condemned the sexualisation of female roles, demanded more opportunities for female directors and helped launch a production company dedicated to the empowerment of women called We Do It Together.
“I think people know, if they’re going to hire me I’m not going to just be grateful," Chastain told The Guardian. "There have been situations where I have lost movies because I’ve said, this is not a fair deal, and I’ve walked away”.
Drawing attention to the ongoing prominence of the gender pay gap, Chastain also recounted an anecdote where a prominent female actress was paid 1/16th of her male co-star.
“This woman, she’s very famous, she’s been nominated for many, many Oscars. For one film, the man got paid $4m and she got $250,000”.
The actress discussed the gender pay gap across society as a whole rather than solely in the microcosm of Hollywood. “People still think, oh, why do women go on about the wage gap? Well, it’s across every industry,” Chastain explained.
“The only industries where women get paid more than men are industries where women’s value lies in their body: prostitution, pornography, modelling. Those are the only industries where there’s a wage gap the other way. Because the male gaze says, this is where you’re valued. Your sex.”
