Michelle Williams Uses Emmys Acceptance Speech To Call Out Workplace Inequality For Women Of Color
@Rose Minutaglio
During Sunday’s 2019 Emmy Awards show, Michelle Williams used her acceptance speech to plead for pay equality, especially for women of color, in Hollywood—and the importance of establishing healthy work environments for actors.
“I want to say thank you so much to FX and to Fox 21 studios for supporting me completely and for paying me equally because they understood that when you put value into a person, it empowers that person to get in touch with their own inherent value,” Williams said after picking up the award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or TV Movie for her portrayal of Broadway star Gwen Verdon in FX’s Fosse/Verdon.
“Then, where do they put that value?” the former Dawson’s Creek star continued. “They put it into their work and so the next time a woman and especially a woman of color, because she stands to make 52 cents to the dollar compared to her white male counterpart, tells you what she needs in order to do her job, listen to her, believe her because one day she might stand in front of you and say thank you for allowing her to succeed bc of her workplace environment and not in spite of it. “
Her powerful words quickly went viral on Twitter.
Below, her speech in full:
Thank you so much to the Television Academy for this and to the incredible cast and crew who worked so hard to make this TV show, especially you, Sam Rockwell, I know how hard you worked. I see this as an acknowledgment of what is possible when a a woman is trusted to discern her own needs, feels safe enough to voice them, and respected enough that they’ll be heard. When I asked for more dance classes I heard yes. more voice lessons, yes. a different wig, a pair of fake teeth not made out of rubber, yes. All of these things they require effort and they cost more money but my bosses never presumed to know better than I did about what I needed in order to do my job and honor Gwen Verdon. I want to say thank you so much to FX and to Fox 21 studios for supporting me completely and for paying me equally because they understood that when you put value into a person it empowers that person to get in touch with their own inherent value and then where do they put that value? They put it into their work and so the next time a woman and especially a woman of color, because she stands to make 52 cents to the dollar compared to her white male counterpart, tells you what she needs in order to do her job, listen to her, believe her because one day she might stand in front of you and say thank you for allowing her to succeed bc of her workplace environment and not in spite of it.
