Emily Blunt opened up about some of the gender disparities she faces as a working mom in Hollywood, and it’ll make you think we’re not actually living in the year 2022
It’s currently 2022, but you wouldn’t know it by some of the discrimination and gender disparities women still face at work. That’s doubly true for moms, as evidenced by a new interview Emily Blunt did with Porter.
Because of her marriage to John Krasinski—and the fact that they often work on the same projects—Blunt said she has an even clearer view of gender disparities in Hollywood than most.
“Oh, hugely,” she said. “I talk about this at great lengths with my girlfriends, with my husband, with all my friends… How much of it is genetic, how much of it is societal, how much of it is historical, how much of it is biological.”
Blunt continued, “I don’t know why, when your kids call out in the night, they’re usually calling for Mummy. And you know that. That’s symbolic of, like, everything a mother feels when they want to have a career as well as being there and being available. And that’s what weighs you down with guilt sometimes.”
Despite that fact that Blunt is a household name, an A-list star, and one of the best (and best-known) actresses in the world, she noted how much of her time on set is spent talking about her kids—specifically, because her choices as a mom are often brought into question in a way that men’s choices simply aren’t.
“It is interesting that women are still made to feel defensive of their choices to work, and men are not,” Blunt said. “When I was on set in Atlanta, which was challenging because I was racing back home every weekend—and then the kids would come to me for five, six days—it was amazing how many people asked where my kids were. I thought, ‘I bet Chris Evans isn’t being asked that question, or Andy Garcia, or Jay Duplass.’ And you just normalize it… but I find myself overexplaining or compensating to appear like, ‘I can still do everything and I’m still available.’ It’s that awareness of perception, maybe.”
According to Blunt, she tries to “care less about perception… Because I don’t care about perception when it comes to business. So why do I care about it when it comes to being a mum?”
It’s a challenge that so many working moms face—every day. Why does Blunt have to justify her choices as a working mom, while her husband gets to pursue his career in peace? It’s 2022—it’s past time for the world to accept that moms can be more than just moms, and that working dads are equal parents, too.
