Patricia Arquette’s kick ass Oscar Speech took over the internet, and rightly so. While political statements are generally frowned upon at the Academy Awards, Arquette won the hearts of people all over the world with her demand for equal pay for women. The best reaction came from Meryl Streep and Jennifer Lopez, both of whom nearly fell off their seats with glee. Equal pay for women in Hollywood has been a widely debated topic since the Sony hacks. I hope that Arquette’s speech makes a difference, she has at least raised awareness to billions of people, and for that she is amazing.
She also said earlier this year that she paid her babysitter and dog walker more money than she made on Boyhood. She isn’t the only one to speak out. Hilary Swank said: “My male counterpart will get paid ten times more than me — ten times. Not double, but ten times for the same job. We only have this much left for the female actress. I mean, there’s two genders on this earth. Both are compelling, interesting, diverse, wonderful in all their own separate ways. And yet there’s an influx of male roles, and there’s just not for women.”
While Amy Pascal has said that the problem is that women accept less money than men it is not as simple as that. Pascal herself said that there are less roles for women so women are more likely to work for less just to have a job. This is a sad state of affairs that must change. Arquette has started the battle call, we must all follow through.