LONDON: Oscar winner Cate Blanchett says she thought Jennifer Lawrence’s essay on gender inequality in Hollywood

was “necessary”.

The Carol actress hopes the 26-year-old star’s piece of work — in which she revealed she had been paid considerable less than her male American Hustle co-stars — will encourage women in other industries to take a stance on the issue, reported Empire magazine.

“I thought it was fantastic. I thought it was timely, brave, and necessary. I applaud her for saying that because, forget the film industry for a second, it encourages women in other industries to say, ‘You know what, I’m not receiving equal pay for equal work here’,” Blanchett said.

“You’re not saying, ‘I want to be paid squillions of dollars’. That’s not her point. Her point is, I’m drawing lots of audiences to this film, as much as the men. We’re all doing equal work.

“It’s a basic, basic thing.”

The 46-year-old actress believes there will come a day when gender inequality is no longer a problem in Hollywood. “I hope it changes tomorrow. I can imagine change, I can. Because it does benefit everyone and it benefits audiences, which is why we all do this in the first place. “Female-led films are interesting to men and boys and they make money. Women are great actors and producers, they’re good distributors and people want to see the stories because they’re interesting,” she said.