Priyanka Chopra Jonas on body shaming, social media and pay parity

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Priyanka Chopra Jonas never dreamt of becoming famous – but then she won the 2000 Miss World pageant which provided a “small-town girl” with a springboard for an international career.

In an interview with BBC 100 Women’s Yogita Limaye, the Indian actress and producer speaks about body shaming, pay parity and the pressure social media can bring.

She says she was getting paid 10% of her male co-actor’s salary while starring in Bollywood movies, and it’s been only during her most recent acting engagements in Hollywood that she has seen the gender pay gap closing for her.

Priyanka Chopra Opens Up About Gender Pay Gap & Body Shaming In BBC Interview

As much as we love Bollywood, it’s still an industry, and there are flaws in the film industry like anywhere else, that we hardly notice. Sure, the content can be problematic at times, but that’s not the only issue. The bigger problem is, what people, who are part of this system, have to deal with. And Priyanka Chopra opened up about it in an interview with BBC.

The actress is known for speaking her mind, and for her efforts to empower women – which is exactly what she did in the interview. Priyanka Chopra talked about the gender gap that exists in Bollywood. It’s an external factor, and in a way, an addition to the social constructs that women already have to deal with. She mentioned that she was often mistreated or bullied for being dark-skinned. And while this would impact anybody’s confidence, she also had to work harder than her female contemporaries who were light-skinned.

We aren’t unaware of the sheer-toxic-love that are society has for lighter-skin, but it’s something so absurd. The actress also talked about pageants and how they can be empowering, as they were for her. But it’s still a long way to go, given that a lot needs to change about how we treat them, and the basis on which people are awarded.

Priyanka Chopra then raised the issue of gender pay gap in Bollywood. She pointed out the fact, that she has never been paid the same amount as her male co-actor. She would be paid only around 10 percent of her male co-actor’s fees. And if that’s not concerning, I don’t know what is. The good thing about this interview is, that the actress shared how she wasn’t aware of all these issues that surrounded the industry. And it was only with time that she started addressing her concerns around how women were treated.

This means that she has started speaking up, and working for change, in her own ways – by using her influence to raise awareness.

Watch the entire interview here:

It is, without a doubt, liberating just to see someone take a stand for the right thing. If anything, it helps people to do the same, everywhere.