Jennifer Garner Talks Gender Equality In Hollywood

Monday night Jennifer Garner was honored at Elle’s 21st Annual Women in Hollywood celebration. While there, she lamented at the fact that an event like Women in Hollywood needed to exist and continued to decry inequality in show business, E! News reports.

“The fact that there even needs to be a Women in Hollywood event is a little bit sad. I mean, the men in Hollywood event is every day — it’s called Hollywood. Fifty-one percent of the population should not have to have to schedule a special event to celebrate the fact that in an art that tells the story of what it means to be human and alive, we get to play a part.”

Jennifer Garner went on to tell an anectdote that perfectly illustrates — in a different way — just how different things are for men and women in Hollywood. While both Garner and her husband Ben Affleck (Gone Girl) were on their respective press junkets, where they were asked questions regarding their life, work, etc.

“We got home at night and we compared notes. And I told him every single person who interviewed me, I mean every single one, and this is true of the red carpet here tonight Elle, asked me, ‘How do you balance work and family?’ and he said the only thing that people asked him repeatedly was about the t**s on the ‘Blurred Lines’ girl, which, for the record if we’re talking about them, they are real and they are fabulous [Affleck’s Gone Girl co-star Emily Ratajkowski]. Take a look and enjoy. As for work-life balance, he said that no one asked him about it that day. As a matter-of-fact, no one had ever asked him about it. Not once.”

Jennifer Garner then closed her speech by bringing forth the question if it was time to change the conversation.

Garner isn’t alone in her sentiment in regards to women in Hollywood. In recent weeks, there was substantial outcry after The Fappening, wherein dozens of Hollywood female stars (and virtually no male stars) had nude photos of them leaked — a sure sign that despite our strides as a society, that sexism still exists. Last year, TheWrap posted an infographic on the gender inequality present in Hollywood, and the statistics are staggering. Just as a taste, over 25% of women get partially naked in movies compared to less than 10% of men, and behind camera, there are five men working in the industry for every one female. All interesting stats and a sure sign that we still have a long way to go.