Jessica Alba Says Her Dad Is A Feminist And Believes "Women Should Be Equal To Men"
You haven't seen much of Jessica Alba in the movies and on TV lately because she's been busy building a successful company. She founded The Honest Company more than 10 years ago, and it's now worth $1.4 billion.
Jessica landed the cover of Forbes in 2015 when it was announced that she was one of the richest self-made women in the U.S. Back then, her net worth was $200 million, which is a great leap from where she grew up. In her interview with British Glamour, she shared that her parents were living paycheck to paycheck when she was growing up.
"And so the mentality of ‘tomorrow’s not guaranteed’... For me, I was like, ‘I got to do everything I can to keep my head above water,'" she said. She also spoke about the influence her dad had on her and her political views.
Jessica Alba Talks about Feminism and Representation in the Workplace
Jessica grew up in a Hispanic family and is married with two children. She said her father taught her about equality from a young age. “I’ve identified as a feminist since I could remember identifying as anything,” she said. “I believe that women should be equal to men. And so does my dad. My dad’s a feminist, too.”
This is why Jessica is so critical of female representation in Hollywood and the world of business. She insists that "the system just has to be more diverse." Jessica points out that 60% of people entering the workforce are women. However, when you take a look at the executive level of business, that percentage lowers to the teens.
"It really diminishes to [around] 14%, 15%. So you’re like, ‘What the hell happened?’" she wondered. "We started at 60% and then now we’re at 15%, 14%? What’s going on?’"
"I would say a lot of it has to do with women’s health and support around our health and our bodies. We’re complex and we need to be treated with care. And we can’t sort of be demeaned and shamed for having complex bodies that actually create life.”
Jessica believes that women "fall out of the workforce because there is no real support system in our country." She added that there's "guilt and shame and bias," and it's unfair that most of the people in power at that level of business are men. She's frustrated that women don't have more maternity rights that allow them to continue working when they have children. But Jessica is also critical of the overturning of Roe v. Wade, as she believes that it hinders women from being able to live their life in the way they choose.