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Jessica Chastain Won’t Be Silent About Gender Discrimination in Hollywood

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Jessica Chastain won’t keep quiet about gender discrimination in Hollywood.

In a new interview with American Way, the actress said that she launched her own production company, Freckle Films, last year in an attempt to change the statistics on gender equality in the film industry. “I just don’t know why it’s not changing,” she told the magazine. “I’m doing my part to make the change, so why isn’t everyone else?”

But her advocacy on the issue hasn’t come without risk, she says.

“I had one male director say to me that I talk too much about all of this ‘women stuff.’ This is a person I love, and maybe he was concerned I would hurt my career,” she said. “I’m not attacking anyone. I’m trying to create more inclusiveness, compassion and empathy — which in turn makes better movies, better art.”

Read the full interview on American Way.

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Write to Samantha Cooney at samantha.cooney@time.com