Sandra Bullock on gender pay gap: 'I'm glad Hollywood got caught'

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 13 (UPI) -- Sandra Bullock has spoken out against sexism in Hollywood mentioning that pay inequality is only part of a larger issue.

"It's a bigger issue than money," Bullock wrote in an essay for Variety Tuesday. "I know we're focused on the money part right now. That's just a byproduct."

Bullock believes that the pay disparity will improve once women are treated as equals within the entertainment industry and the media.

"I always make a joke: 'Watch, we're going to walk down the red carpet, I'm going to be asked about my dress and my hair while the man standing next to me will be asked about his performance and political issues,'" she said. "Once we start shifting how we perceive women and stop thinking about them as 'less than,' the pay disparity will take care of itself. There's a much bigger issue at hand. I'm glad Hollywood got caught."

The actress also discussed the first time she realized men and women were treated differently in Hollywood referencing one of her worst experiences on set. "I was actually doing a film about 10 years ago, and I found myself yelling and being angry. And I was like, 'What is happening to me?'" she explained. "I was literally fearful. And I realized, it's because I'm female. It dawned on me. At that day and age, at that point in my career, it was the worst experience I ever had."

"I was destroyed, because you can't unsee something," Bullock continued. "It was the way I was being treated, because I was female, versus the way others were being treated."

Still, Bullock is hopeful change is possible especially if the conversation continues."Hollywood has always been at the forefront of pioneering a new road and a new movement," she added. "So it's a blessing that they got caught, and there are a lot of outspoken, narcissistic actors like myself who are very happy to talk about the issue and keep it alive."

Back in October, Jennifer Lawrence re-ignited the conversation about gender pay inequality in Hollywood after she published an essay on the wage gap mentioning how she made scores less than her male co-stars.

Since then various actors and actresses have spoken out about the issue including Bradley Cooper, Josh Hutcherson and Kate Winslet. Recently, reports surfaced that Scarlett Johansson was making about the same as her male co-stars in The Avengers series.