Emily Blunt has noticed how working mothers are made to feel defensive about their decision while fathers are not.
The Devil Wears Prada actress, who shares two young daughters with her husband John Krasinski, recently wrapped filming the movie Pain Hustlers alongside Chris Evans, Andy Garcia, and Catherine O'Hara in Atlanta, Georgia.
She returned home to New York to see her family every weekend and the children would visit her, however, she noted in an interview with Porter magazine that she was still asked about her kids' whereabouts.
"It is interesting that women are still made to feel defensive of their choices to work, and men are not," Emily explained. "When I was on set in Atlanta, which was challenging because I was racing back home every weekend - and then the kids would come to me for five, six days - it was amazing how many people asked where my kids were. I thought, 'I bet Chris Evans isn't being asked that question, or Andy Garcia, or Jay Duplass.' And you just normalise it... but I find myself overexplaining or compensating to appear like, 'I can still do everything and I'm still available.' It's that awareness of perception, maybe."
The British actress added that she needs to "care less" about how she is perceived, adding, "Because I don't care about perception when it comes to business. So why do I care about it when it comes to being a mum?"
The 39-year-old admitted that being in the same industry as her husband makes the double standards between fathers and mothers more obvious and it's an issue they talk about at great length.
Speaking about balancing motherhood and her career, Emily shared, "I don't know why, when your kids call out in the night, they're usually calling for mummy. And you know that. That's symbolic of, like, everything a mother feels when they want to have a career as well as being there and being available. And that's what weighs you down with guilt sometimes."
