‘Jane The Virgin’ Star Gina Rodriguez Pens Powerful Essay About Equal Pay

“Jane the Virgin” star Gina Rodriguez is all about female empowerment, and she is standing up for her beliefs even in the workplace.

The Latina actress said that she grew up upholding the mantra “I can and I will” thanks to her father, and it was very important for her because there were challenges and limitations everywhere in the low-income part of Chicago.

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Now that she has grown up to be a successful actress, Rodriguez is once again pushing the norm by raising awareness for gender pay gap. “On average, there is a 20 percent pay gap that women face for doing the same job compared to their male counterparts — a gap that often grows larger for different ethnicities,” she wrote for In Style. “To me, equal pay isn’t just about a dollar amount. It’s about knowing what you’re worth and a strength in knowing what you deserve. It’s about fairly and equally recognizing hard work and talent, no matter gender, ethnicity or religion.”

Rodriguez stressed that equal pay is “necessary” because it sends a message to women that they are valued and are capable of accomplishing great things. “We must continue to champion and support women in our daily lives,” she said. “I believe there are small acts we can all take every day to help champion equality and support one other. One way is to use your social channels to raise your voice.”

Rodriguez has been doing that herself through #MovementMondays on her Instagram page, where she highlights people from different fields who are doing amazing work.

When asked why she does this, Rodriguez told Bustle that “there’s nothing greater than to make, glorify, and uplift women doing work in fields that aren’t often spoken about in social media or pop culture.”

In doing so, Rodriguez said young women will be inspired to follow their lead. “You can see someone that looks like you in the light that you’ve never seen before,” she said.