Kate Winslet thinks Hollywood is creating a space for younger women to be “safe” at work which wasn’t present before.
Kate Winslet
The ‘Titanic’ star has praised the work done by the film industry in the wake of the allegations against disgraced producer Harvey Weinstein – who is currently serving 23 years in prison for sex offences including assault and rape – as she believes there is a “shift” happening which will the “younger generation” go to work on film sets without feeling frightened.
She said: “The thing that is shifting in ways that will absolutely be long lasting is how women's voices are being received. There is a space that has been created for a younger generation that is going to be safe.
“My daughter is 20, and she just came into the industry about a year and a half ago. And what's wonderful for me, as her mum, is just watching her have a courage of conviction and self-belief that is just unwavering, because she's entering a time when we're clearing the s*** away from them, these girls.
“These girls are going to change the world, and they're going to be strong, and they're going to be powerful, and they're going to be f****** amazing. And that is because we're getting all the bad stuff out of the way for them and all they will know is to use their voice in positive, powerful ways, to lead with compassion, to be strong role models and friends. And that, to me, is the biggest thing that has shifted.”
And Kate believes this decade will be one in which more women than ever begin “championing and supporting other women”.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter for their Actress Roundtable, she said: “This is the decade of women championing and supporting other women without judgment. This is happening right now, and that has come as a result of the mass united swell that has emerged from #MeToo.
“We've all come together, everyone is holding hands and walking in the same direction. And, for me, that is the single most exciting thing that is coming out of the awfulness of the past five years and those extraordinary women coming forward and sharing their painful, awful stories, and the horrendous Harvey Weinstein.
“The time now is about leading in a different way. Young women being able to lead with courage - in a way that I feel I certainly didn't have, that sense of courage and companionship with my peers, in a way that I think #MeToo has done for this generation of women.”
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