海角大神

Another Hollywood聽A-lister聽has demanded equal pay for equal work.听听

Robin Wright,聽who plays the聽cunning First Lady Claire Underwood on "House of Cards,"聽, or else.听听

"I was like, 'You better pay me or I'm going to go public,'" Ms. Wright said Tuesday聽at the Rockefeller Foundation in New York City.聽"And they did."聽聽

"I was looking at the statistics and Claire Underwood's character was more popular than [Frank Underwood's] for a period of time. So I capitalized on it," she said, according to the Huffington Post.听听

Social media was afire聽Wednesday with clever comparisons of聽Wright to the devious character聽she plays. All joking aside, however,聽Wright's聽remarks add to聽testimonies from actresses like聽Jennifer Lawrence and Meryl Streep about the continuing gender pay gap in the film industry, which mirrors the gap in聽American聽industries in general.听听

Their advocacy "helps us understand that the problem of unequal pay is very real for women up and down the income scale," Emily Martin, the National聽Women's Law Center's vice president for workplace justice, tells 海角大神 in a phone interview. 聽

"We're also not all Robin Wright,"聽she聽adds. "We don't have the real bargaining power she did: 'You will treat me fairly, or I have the power to embarrass you.'" 聽聽

Wright's role on the award-winning show gave her the power to demand more, the actress told Judith Rodin, president of the Rockefeller Foundation.聽

"It was a perfect paradigm," she said during their conversation on stage. "There are very few films or TV shows where the male, the patriarch, and the matriarch are equal." But her聽and聽Spacey's聽salaries were not. 聽

Spacey received聽聽in 2014, though TV聽Guide聽estimated that could double as the show gained popularity, according to Business Insider.聽Wright, who won a Golden Globe for playing Claire Underwood,聽received聽聽in 2015, according to the Huffington Post.听听

Claire's presence on the show only strengthened this season, as the fictional First Lady聽revealed her聽deviousness, especially in聽her efforts聽to pave her聽own path politically.聽

Wright now joins聽a cast of聽women in聽Hollywood聽who have spoken out about the pay gap. 聽

The loudest voice聽of late was聽Jennifer Lawrence, the best-paid actress in 2015. In an essay written for Lena Dunham's "Lenny Letter" newsletter in October, Lawrence writes about聽learning she earned less than her male counterparts聽in the movie "American Hustle." Other聽actresses have also brought attention to the issue, including three-time Academy Award winner Meryl Streep, who聽urged Congress聽in June to revive the debate around the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA).听听

In May 2015,聽the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) appealed federal and state civil rights agencies聽聽of a practice in聽the television and film industries of not hiring women directors.

These claims are not without teeth.听听

According to the White House, a woman聽聽a man earns, on average. A 2015 Pew Center study聽"has shown that as women become more prevalent in a field 鈥� even if they have equal levels of education, work experience, and skill 鈥� the pay in that field drops," as Schuyler Velasco wrote in a Monitor article about the pay gap in US Olympic soccer.听听

Wright, though, acknowledged she might have earned less than Spacey for a different聽reason.听听

"Because I wasn't working full time [when I raised my children], I wasn鈥檛 building my salary bracket. If you don鈥檛 build that ... with notoriety and presence, you鈥檙e not in the game anymore.聽You become a B-list actor," she said. "Now I鈥檓 kind of on a comeback at 50 years old."