Five Female Actors Who Called Out Gender Pay Gap In Bollywood

After centuries and decades of fighting for equal rights for women, the fight is still not won. The patriarchal system could not stop women from getting ahead but they did make sure that women always stay a step behind men in terms of pay.

In a 2018 survey, a woman working full time, year round earned $10,194 less than her male counterpart, on average. The gap even wider for women of colour in the United States of America. India on the other hand slipped to the 112th position from the previous 108th in 2018, according to Gender Gap Index in 2020.  Bollywood is no different. Time to time female actors have spoken up against the pay disparity among male and female actors. Here are some those strong women who decided to speak up and ask for what they deserve:  

Priyanka Chopra 

Padma Shri Awardee, Priyanka Chopra said, "I think gender pay gap is a global problem. It exits in every profession, be it Hollywood, Bollywood or the business sector where male are paid more than females. I feel it's a big problem and is not just confined to the film industry."

Deepika Padukone

At a public event, Deepika Padukone confessed rejecting a film because the director was hell on "accommodating" a male actor's pay. She said, " I don't think I would be able to live with the thought that despite the same kind of creative contribution as my male co-star, and bringing the same kind of value to the film as him, I am being underpaid. I was not okay with it."

Anushka Sharma 

Anushka Sharma in her column published in Economic Times wrote, "Women are not treated equally. Women have an equal stake in work and in society. In fact, in many cases, we are even more influential than men. And yet, women are not treated equally."

Also read: Asking For Equal Pay Is Not Unfair! Pay Parity Can't Be Achieved In A Day

Sonam Kapoor 

On a popular talk show hosted by Karan Johar, Sonam Kapoor made headlines by unapologetically speaking against gender pay gap. She said, " I think it is about time, as women, as actors, as artists that we get our due."

Aditi Rao Hydari

Aditi Rao Hydari told PTI, " I don't really understand why we are paid less than male actors because we put equal efforts." " We deserve better pay, equal to what (male)actors get," she added.