Patricia Arquette Calls Income Inequality an 'American Disgrace'

— -- In her acceptance speech for best supporting actress for her role in “Boyhood” last year, actress Patricia Arquette made a plea for pay equity. On Equal Pay Day, she brought her message to Washington, D.C., calling income inequality “an American disgrace.”

“This is an American problem, and this is an American disgrace,” she said to a group at the National Press Club, where she and Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney , D-NY, discussed the gender pay gap, and made the case for support for the Equal Rights Amendment.

The conference was timed with the release of a new Democratic Joint Economic Committee study “Gender Pay Equality: Consequences for Women, Families and Economy,” which includes a state-by-state breakdown of the pay gap as well as a detailed look at income inequality over the course of a lifetime.

The actress used the platform Tuesday to tell the story of her experiences as a single mother at the age of 20 and the hardships she faced in trying to make ends meet.

“I myself was a single mother at 20, and know what it’s like to struggle to buy diapers and food, while we lived in a converted garage,” Arquette said. “I can tell you it wasn’t easy, but it was a lot harder when you’re being underpaid.”

Arquette said she is scheduled to meet with lawmakers on Capitol Hill today, and she has a strong message for them on the issue.

“The fact that little has been done by many of our lawmakers is infuriating,” she said. “It’s a choice when laws that would help women are either ignored, or voted down, or not given a vote at all. Women are receiving a strong message; many of our leaders do not care that there is this discrimination happening to half the population.”