--- title: 11 Powerful Quotes About Equal Pay description: ‘It's our time to have wage equality once and for all and equal rights for women in the United States of America’ canonical: https://time.com/4289810/equal-pay-quotes/ author: Maggie Parker article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-04-12T11:00:21.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:39:18.323Z og:title: 11 Powerful Quotes About Equal Pay og:description: ‘It's our time to have wage equality once and for all' og:url: https://time.com/4289810/equal-pay-quotes/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 11 Powerful Quotes About Equal Pay twitter:description: ‘It's our time to have wage equality once and for all' twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # 11 Powerful Quotes About Equal Pay by [Maggie Parker](https://time.com/author/maggie-parker/) ## Maggie Parker Apr 12, 2016 11:00 AM UTC by [Maggie Parker](https://time.com/author/maggie-parker/) ## Maggie Parker Apr 12, 2016 11:00 AM UTC April 12 is Equal Pay Day, but of course, gender-based pay discrimination is an issue more than just one day a year. According to [an analysis by TIME and Motto](http://motto.time.com/4201637/pay-gap-calculator/), women earn less than men at every single point in their careers, from 15% less between ages 22 and 25 to 38% less between ages 51 and 64. While we may not solve pay inequality anytime soon, we can at least continue the dialogue to shine light on this persistent issue, as many celebrities, athletes and public figures do. ### Carli Lloyd  Carli Lloyd poses for a portrait at the USOC Rio Olympics Shoot at Quixote Studios on November 17, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. Harry How—Getty Images “When I joined four teammates in [filing a wage-discrimination complaint](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/01/sports/soccer/uswnt-us-women-carli-lloyd-alex-morgan-hope-solo-complain.html) against U.S. Soccer late last month, it had nothing to do with how much I love to play for my country. It had everything to do with what’s right and what’s fair and with upholding a fundamental American concept: Equal pay for equal play.” —via [The New York _Times_](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/11/sports/soccer/carli-lloyd-why-im-fighting-for-equal-pay.html) ### Jennifer Lawrence  Actress Jennifer Lawrence arrives at the 2016 Vanity Fair Oscar Party Hosted By Graydon Carter at Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on February 28, 2016 in Beverly Hills, California. Axelle/Bauer-Griffin—FilmMagic/Getty “Jeremy Renner, Christian Bale and Bradley Cooper all fought and succeeded in negotiating powerful deals for themselves. If anything, I’m sure they were commended for being fierce and tactical, while I was busy worrying about coming across as a brat.” —via [Lenny Letter](http://www.lennyletter.com/work/a147/jennifer-lawrence-why-do-i-make-less-than-my-male-costars/) **_Read more:_** [_So You’re Making Less Than a Man—Now What?_](http://motto.time.com/4202330/making-less-money/) ### Patricia Arquette  Patricia Arquette speaks onstage during the 27th Annual GLAAD Media Awards held at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on April 2, 2016 in Beverly Hills, California. Michael Tran—FilmMagic/Getty “To every woman who gave birth, to every taxpayer and citizen of this nation: We have fought for everybody else’s equal rights. … It’s our time to have wage equality once and for all and equal rights for women in the United States of America.” —via her [acceptance speech for the 2015 Best Supporting Actress Oscar](http://time.com/3716813/oscars-2015-patricia-arquette-best-supporting-actress-wage-equality/) ### Emma Watson  Actress Emma Watson speaks during The Empire State Building lighting In HeForShe Magenta For International Women's Day at The Empire State Building on March 8, 2016 in New York City. Astrid Stawiarz—Getty Images “The reality is that, if we do nothing, it will take 75 years, or for me to be nearly 100, before women can expect to be paid the same as men for the same work.” —via [a speech at the United Nations Headquarters in September 2014](http://www.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2014/9/emma-watson-gender-equality-is-your-issue-too) ### Amanda Seyfried  Actress Amanda Seyfried attends the K.I.D.S./Fashion Delivers Annual Gala at American Museum of Natural History on November 4, 2015 in New York City. Daniel Zuchnik—WireImage/Getty Images “A few years ago, on one of my big-budget films, I found I was being paid 10% of what my male costar was getting, and we were pretty even in status. I think people think because I’m easygoing and game to do things, I’ll just take as little as they offer. But it’s not about how much you get, it’s about how fair it is.” —via [_The Sunday Times_](http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/style/living/article1579947.ece) **_Read more:_** [_How to Negotiate Salary: 5 Secrets Backed by Research_](http://time.com/4250906/salary-negotation-tips/) ### Viola Davis  Actress Viola Davis attends the 47th NAACP Image Awards at Pasadena Civic Auditorium on February 5, 2016 in Pasadena, California. Jason LaVeris—FilmMagic/Getty Images “I have to be honest with you. I believe in equal pay, first of all. I’m sorry, if a woman does the same job as a man, she should be paid the same amount of money. She just should. That’s just the way the world should work.” —via [Mashable](http://mashable.com/2016/02/25/viola-davis-interview/#NMq0FJCqJiqI) ### Sheryl Sandberg  Sheryl Sandberg attends AOL MAKERS Conference at Terranea Resort on February 2, 2016 in Rancho Palos Verdes, California. Jerod Harris—Getty “It’s indisputable that there’s a real pay gap. People can argue about how big, but that’s almost besides the point. … The point is that every woman, every girl deserves to get paid what they’re worth.” —via an interview with [HuffPost Live](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/09/sheryl-sandberg-pay-gap%5Fn%5F5120248.html) ### Elena Delle Donne  Elena Donne Dunne poses for a portrait at the 2016 Team USA Media Summit at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on March 9, 2016 in Beverly Hills, California. Sean M. Haffey—Getty Images “\[Sexism\] is in the workforce, as well. There isn’t even equal pay, so it’s not just in sports—it’s everywhere. Women out there need to keep pushing, and don’t let it deter you. Because we need all strong women to come out and speak about it. Equality’s coming, we just have to talk about it.” —via [Motto](http://motto.time.com/4263401/elena-delle-donne-sexism-interview/) **_Read more:_** [_Here’s the History of the Battle for Equal Pay for American Women_](http://time.com/3774661/equal-pay-history/) ### Beyoncé  Beyonce performs onstage during the 2015 Budweiser Made in America Festival at Benjamin Franklin Parkway on September 5, 2015 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Kevin Mazur—Getty Images “Men have to demand that their wives, daughters, mothers and sisters earn more—commensurate with their qualifications and not their gender. Equality will be achieved when men and women are granted equal pay and equal respect.” —via [The Shriver Report](http://shriverreport.org/gender-equality-is-a-myth-beyonce/) ### Daniel Craig  Actor Daniel Craig attends 'Spectre' premiere at The Place on November 12, 2015 in Beijing, China. ChinaFotoPress—Getty “A man is still likely to earn more money than a woman, even one doing the same job. You have a far better chance of entering political office or becoming a company director. … Women are responsible for two-thirds of the work done worldwide, yet earn only 10% of the total income and own 1% of the property. … So are we equals? Until the answer is ‘yes,’ we must never stop asking.” —via [a 2011 video for International Women’s Day](http://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/mar/07/james-bond-video-womens-day) ### Joe Biden  U.S. Vice President Joe Biden delivers remarks during the 2016 International Women of Courage Forum at the State Department, March 29, 2016 in Washington, DC. Established in 2007, the awards honor women around the world for leadership and courage in equality, social progress and human rights. Fourteen women were recognized this year. Drew Angerer—Getty Images “Equal pay for equal work. It’s common sense. It’s also overdue. Let’s close the gap and let’s do it now.” —via [Twitter](https://twitter.com/VP/status/588022956812533760/photo/1?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4289810/equal-pay-quotes/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4289810/equal-pay-quotes/"},"headline":"11 Powerful Quotes About Equal Pay","datePublished":"2016-04-12T11:00:21.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:39:18.323Z","description":"‘It's our time to have wage equality once and for all and equal rights for women in the United States of America’","url":"https://time.com/4289810/equal-pay-quotes/","keywords":["motto","motto instagram"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Maggie Parker","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/maggie-parker/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/motto/","name":"motto"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4289810/equal-pay-quotes/","name":"11 Powerful Quotes About Equal Pay"}}]}] ```