Jessica Alba speaks out against the sexism she faced while rising through the ranks

American actor Jessica Alba is sharing her experience of enduring sexism during her career as an actor and a businesswoman.

During an interview with People, the actor said she always wanted to be treated with the same respect that her male counterparts were receiving.

"I always wanted to be treated the way that I saw men being treated. Men were told, 'Oh, you're really smart' if you have ideas about the character or the story, where for the women it was like, 'What? You have an opinion?'" she said.

"It was like you came off as aggressive where a man just looked really assertive and powerful,” she shared.

Alba further said that she noticed that in Hollywood, it was "quite oppressive in a lot of ways when it came to women having an equal standing."

The actor further said she felt “empowered” only after she allowed herself to feel that way.

"For a long time, I felt like I didn't deserve it. Trying to reach a goal is one thing, but giving myself the space to be successful and acknowledge that, or even giving myself the space to feel intelligent, was hard,” she said.