Sexism can be as aggressive as racism: Zoe Saldana

Actor Zoe Saldana says US President Donald Trump's election was a reminder of the strong role that race and sex still play in the US.

"There was a realisation that I just had in this last election is that, that America is racist," she said on 'Sway in the Morning' show, reports people.com.

"Of course, there's racism everywhere. I'm not saying that there isn't. But I think that sexism is much stronger and it's much more aggressive. And turn on the TV, just read the newspaper," she added.

Noting that "CEOs are primarily males", and that in the art world, "male painters are the ones that are more successful, primarily", Saldana argued that while women do get involved, their numbers are disproportionally scarce.

"(This) lets you know logically that there is an imbalance," she said.

The Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 star said that part of the problem is a lack of trust in female leadership.

"It's like the moment a woman gains some kind of position of power, she will be questioned," she said.

By holding women to an unfair standard, Saldana said, "It's almost like you're trying to prove our incompetence."

Citing Hillary Clinton as an example, Saldana said she "found it really offensive" that the Democratic nominee was made to seem "incompetent" over the handling of her email server, people.com reported.

"I'm just like, 'People, she's up against a man that calls women pigs on national television and she's incompetent?' There's a big problem here and we have to address this pink elephant in the room. And it has to do with sexism in America," she said.