The Hollywood Reporter has essays up from women in Hollywood, as part of their Women in Entertainment issue, about their experiences relating to gender. Feminism, wage equality and more equitable representation for women in media has been a big topic this year and was the most positive thing to come out of the Sony hack. Jessica Chastain has an impressive essay up and it’s very telling about the state of Hollywood. She’s worked on a lot of sets, mostly predominantly men, and she doesn’t talk smack or say that we need to take over, just that things need to be more balanced.

Chastain has consistently been on point about feminism, pay equity and minority representation in her industry. When a story came out that she made $18 million less than Matt Damon, for The Martian, she corrected the record and admitted that she made even less than that, about a quarter of what was reported. She’s also said that we need more diversity in film, she called the lack of diversity is a “disease,” and she pointed out that women are unnecessarily sexualized in action movies. Chastain is so articulate and willing to talk about this issue, despite the fact that her outspokenness can affect her income and the roles she’s offered (considering who runs Hollywood). She’s a rarity and I admire her so much.

Anyway here’s some of what she wrote for The Hollywood Reporter, and please read her essay in full for more. She writes in such a powerful yet matter-of-fact way.

On working with more women now
I’m in Prague filming a movie called The Zookeeper’s Wife with director Niki Caro. I can’t tell you — it’s amazing. I’ve never been on a set with so many women. We’re not even 50 percent of the crew — we’re probably something like 20 percent women and 80 percent men — but it’s way more than I’ve ever worked with on a film before…

On her regular experience in film
Usually on a movie it would be me and maybe two or three other women, even though there are 100 people there. It’s crazy. I loved making the movie Lawless — it was a very masculine story about three brothers — but when Mia Wasikowska showed up on the set, I ran into her trailer and yelled, “It’s a girl!” I was so happy.

On the need for balance in film
Some people might say a woman can’t direct this because of that, or a man can’t direct that because of this. I don’t like to do that. Look at Kathryn Bigelow: She can do incredible action films. Or Anthony Minghella, who directed the most beautiful, sensitive romances. For me, sex really isn’t the qualifier in the way someone directs — but I just know that when you have a set with predominantly one gender, whether it be all men or all women, it’s not going to be a healthy place. I imagine it’s the same thing in the workforce or other environments: When you have both genders represented, then you have a healthier point of view. The energy is great, you all are working together as a community, and everyone is participating in the exchange of ideas. You don’t feel a hierarchy; you don’t have anyone feeling like they are being left out or bullied or humiliated. Sometimes being the only girl on a set, you can feel like a sexual object.

On helping other women in film
I want to make sure I’m contributing to cre­ating diversity in the industry. I want to work with anyone who is talented, but I know that some people have to work harder to succeed in this business than others. I did Texas Killing Fields with Ami Canaan Mann, Zero Dark Thirty with Kathryn Bigelow, Miss Julie with Liv Ullmann and now Zookeeper’s Wife with Niki. And I’m doing another film with a female director that’s not been announced yet. I read this incredible article Chris Rock did [in the Dec. 12, 2014, edition of The Hollywood Reporter] where he talked about race in Hollywood, and he said that if there is an African-American who needs help, he’s going to be way more into helping them because he understands they don’t have the opportunity that other people do.

On how a white male dominated culture gets propagated in Hollywood
It’s like Viola Davis said in her Emmy speech: The only thing that separates women of color from anyone else is opportunity. It’s the same situation with female directors versus male directors — they are not given the same opportunity. There was an incredible essay I read in Lena Dunham’s Lenny newsletter by Ellen Pao, the former interim CEO of Reddit. She talks about sexism in the technology world and that it’s so bad you don’t even realize it’s happening. People want to hire their friends and people they get along with, and if there is a company that has a lot of men, and the men are always hanging out together, those are the men who are going to be promoted. It was an incredible essay, and I think it applies to all industries.

If you look at the studio system and the American film industry, people want to work with their friends. If men are predominantly the ones working, they are the ones being given the opportunities more than women.

[From The Hollywood Reporter, headers added]

Chastian’s essay is incredible. It should be required reading for just about everyone who works in Hollywood. (I’m looking at you, Matt Damon.) She has so much personal experience to draw on, she explains it well, and she references other essays and speeches from people in her industry. She also discusses what it’s like to try and make her voice heard on set. I’ve worked in the tech industry and this part rang so true to me. “I’ve been on sets a couple of times where I’ve noticed that if I have an idea about a scene, I have to go through the male actors to be heard. It’s really annoying. The male actor will have a better relationship with the male director, so I have to get the actor on my side.” However she’s also careful to say that she’s worked with sensitive and supportive men.

Please honk if you love Jessica Chastain, because she’s not controversial enough to get many comments. I think that’s because she’s just such an awesome person there’s nothing to debate. (Or maybe some people find that boring. I find it exhilarating. She’s amazing.)

These photos are from 10-16-15 outside The Late Show. Credit: WENN.com, FameFlynet and Pacific Coast News