Laura Dern explains how 'Big Little Lies' has empowered her fight for pay equity

Dern spoke to CNN ahead of Equal Pay Day on Tuesday and said that other than her work on "Big Little Lies," she is still fighting for equal pay.

"I don't know that I still am necessarily [being paid equal]," Dern said. "It's getting closer but when the right people are in charge who really want to make a difference, when your fellow workers are fighting for parity, that's when you start to see changes."

Dern said pay discrepancies in Hollywood have been the norm for her.

"It's every movie, until recently, when groups of people have stood together and when my fellow cast members are female and we all say, 'Hey, we would like to effect change and have parity and have a crew that represents parity and diversity,'" Dern explained, adding that her efforts to advocate for equal pay on past projects were typically dismissed.

"I have to admit that as fierce as I want to be in my voice, I can remember my voice shaking and my palms sweating and me wanting backup and me turning to male superiors or male representatives," she said. "[They'd be] shutting it down with, 'Well, you don't open a movie like that person,' or 'He's been doing it longer than you,' or 'There are so many other women who want this job.'"

Dern's participation in the Time's Up movement since 2017 has led her to become more vocal on pay disparity across industries. She's partnered with NUT-rition as the executive producer on a Equal Pay Day campaign, which advertises an "Equal Pay Pack" of dried fruit and nuts with a portion of proceeds going to a legal hotline for those experiencing wage discrepancies.

Dern said her advice for women who want to speak up about workplace inequality is to ask other female co-workers tough and at times, uncomfortable questions.

"I've watched women in various workplace environments and I know within my industry as well, creating a community of other women workers and having a group text where you share transparency [helps]. 'What do you make?' 'Are you getting overtime?' 'Did you get vacation time?' 'What happened when you had a baby?' Dern explained. "So when you use your voice, you're very well informed."

'Big Little Lies' Season 2 returns in June

Dern is currently working on the second season of HBO's "Big Little Lies," which premieres in June. She said viewers can expect to see her character, Renata Klein, still "drinking wine" and "utterly thrilled to have any female friends." (CNN and HBO share parent company WarnerMedia.)

She also teased there are a parallels between her advocacy for women's rights and the upcoming season.

"[The season will explore] what happens when women aren't silenced in their own isolated experience and they have each other and create a community, the magnitude of impact and what happens with lies and silence and what happens with truth," Dern said. "It's a very exciting thing to be in a zeitgeist moment for us all."

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