Emmy 2019 winners Michelle Williams, Patricia Arquette raise issues of pay parity, trans rights

As expected, a few Emmy award winners took the stage to address pertinent issues in the entertainment industry, from gender pay parity to inclusion on every stage. See in pictures the key highlights of the 71st Emmys.

Michelle Williams who won the award for the lead actress in a limited series/movie thanked her show’s network for believing in equal pay as she accepted the award on the stage. In her speech, Michelle said, "I see this as an acknowledgement of what is possible when a woman is trusted and feels safe enough to voice her needs and respected enough to be heard … my bosses never presumed to know better than I did about what I needed in order to do my job and honour Gwen Verdon."

She added, "Thank you so much to FX and Fox 21 studios for supporting me and paying me equally because they understood that when you put value into a person, it empowers that person to get in touch with their own inherent value. Where do they put that value? They put it into their work.”

"The next time a woman — and especially a woman of colour, because she stands to make 52 cents on the dollar compared to her white male counterparts — tells you what she needs in order to do her job, listen to her, believe her, because one day she might stand in front of you and say thank you for allowing her to succeed because of her workplace environment and not in spite of it," she said as she invited support from her colleagues. 

Michelle was not the only one who raised an important issue on the stage as actress Patricia Arquette who won supporting actress in limited series/movie spoke about trans rights. Patricia remembered her late sister, Alexis Arquette, while advocating for trans rights. "In my heart, I'm so sad I lost my sister Alexis and that trans people are still being persecuted. I'm in mourning every day of my life Alexis and I will be the rest of my life for you until we change the world so that trans people are not persecuted," Patricia said. 

She added, "And give them jobs. They are human beings, let's give them jobs. Let's get rid of this bias that we have everywhere."

The night saw many hits and misses as 'Game of Thrones', 'Fleabag', 'Chernobyl' picked up some awards. Check out the full list of winners here.