Breaking the silence: Leading ladies who spoke up for equal pay

The gender pay gap means that, on average, women earn less money than men for the same kind of work.

It remains a global issue caused by many factors, including discrimination, unequal access to education and opportunities, occupational segregation, and cultural expectations around work and caregiving.

Here are the actress who have spoken out about it:

Nina Dobrev

Nina, who played Elena and several other characters in The Vampire Diaries, revealed that she was paid less than her male co-leads Ian Somerhalder and Paul Wesley throughout her six-season run on the show.

"It was a bit of a tricky situation because my contract only said to play Elena, but I was playing multiple characters, which doubled my workload. I had to be on set for double the amount of time, I had to memorize double the amount of lines,” she shared.

Jennifer Lawrence

In 2014, shocking revelations came to light when Sony was hacked, exposing that Jennifer was paid less than Bradley Cooper for her work in American Hustle.

"I would be lying if I didn’t say there was an element of wanting to be liked that influenced my decision to close the deal without a real fight. I didn’t want to seem 'difficult' or spoiled,'" she admitted.

Jennifer also disclosed that she was paid $5 million less that her Don’t Look Up co-star Leonardo DiCaprio, adding that it’s “extremely uncomfortable” to inquire about equal pay.”

Natalie Portman

In 2017, Natalie opened up about being paid three times less than her No Strings Attached co-star Ashton Kutcher.

“I wasn’t as pissed as I should have been. I mean, we get paid a lot, so it’s hard to complain, but the disparity is crazy,” she told Maire Claire UK.

Priyanka Chopra

In a 2022 BBC interview, Priyanka revealed that she has never received equal pay with a male co-star in her Bollywood career.

"I've never had pay parity in Bollywood. I would get paid about 10% of the salary of my male co-actor," she shared.

The Indian actress added that she often had to wait for several hours on set while her male co-actors arrived whenever they wanted to.

Charlize Theron

In 2015, Charlize made headlines for demanding equal pay with her The Huntsman co-star Chris Hemsworth.

She told Elle that it’s high time for women to embrace feminism, explaining, “It doesn’t mean you hate men; it mean equal rights.”