Amanda Seyfried Talks Gender Pay Disparity

When it comes to voicing her opinion, actress Amanda Seyfried is usually pretty easy-going. However, there is one thing that she just can't keep quiet about any longer and that's the gender pay disparity in the film industry. After starring in big name box office hits such as Mamma Mia!, Mean Girls, and Les Misérables, the actress has recently said in an interview that Seyfried was reportedly paid a 10 percent of her male co-star's wage, even though she claims the two "were pretty even in status."

As Seyfried points out, the main concern here is not about how much she earns but how fair it is in terms of gender equality. She adds that female actors in particular have a harder time deciding whether or not to walk away from a project. Perhaps part of the reason why is because of the scarcity of female roles to begin with. While men never seem to grow old, once women reach a certain age in the film industry, it becomes that much harder for them to obtain work. While Seyfried's comments make a valid argument, they are only scratching the surface of the greater issue here.

When it comes to Hollywood, I think the term, "status" is a tricky concept to navigate, because it doesn't clearly define the actor or actresses' professional career as a whole. Is status the type of awards they have won, the list of movies they have been in or the amount of training they have had? And do any of these things actually make someone a better actor or actress than someone else? In this sense, the lines between how Hollywood stars are defined are incredibly blurred, but they are all defined by one thing: money.

Last December, the infamous Sony hack revealed an even greater gender disparity in Hollywood. For the film American Hustle, the emails claimed that Christian Bale and Bradley Cooper were paid 9 percent of the profits compared to that of Amy Adams and Jennifer Lawrence's 7 percent — even though the latter is an Oscar-winner. As a result, Charlize Theron negotiated a $10 million pay increase for the upcoming Snow White and the Huntsman prequel to put her on par with co-star Chris Hemsworth.

The fact that actresses make a significantly less amount of money on movies than their male counterparts is a reflection of how much less the common working woman makes on a daily basis. While it may be hard to define a proper division of salary for actors and actresses, it does not seem so hard to differentiate salaries between a male and a female doing the exact same job. So how is it that the gender gap still exists in America? As women, it is ultimately our responsibility to stand together and fight for this change. Seyfried has added her voice to this discussion and, hopefully, more women will join her in fighting for equal pay for both genders, no matter the job.

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