Following the American Civil Liberties Union request for a federal and state investigation into the disparity between the number of male film directors who get work to that of female directors, Variety along with UN Women hosted a panel on gender equality.

Actress Salma Hayek, who was among those who participated in the discussion which took place at the Cannes Film Festival May 16, shared her thoughts on the film industry’s lack of support and recognition of women. According to The Telegraph, Hayek spoke candidly about women being shortchanged.

It’s simple, plain ignorance. They think the only value we bring to a movie is as an object. The only kind of film where women make more money than men is porno. It’s not funny.… They have to understand how powerful we are economically. We have the power to show them we can save this film industry…. Cinema undermines women’s intelligence. It’s been doing it for some time now. They don’t see us as a powerful economic force, which is really incredible ignorance.

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