Kate Winslet Applauds Courage of Actors Who Have Revealed Harassment and Abuse

It's long overdue, but Kate Winslet says at last women are finally getting the respect they deserve in Hollywood.

"The men always got paid the most, or just treated differently from a respect level on set," the actress says in this week's issue of PEOPLE, on stands Friday. "And I think that I definitely think is changing."

Fresh off her best actress Emmy nomination for Mare of Easttown, which she also executive produced, Winslet, 45, credits the courage of those who have spoken out about predatory, abusive and harassing behavior by some of the most powerful men in Hollywood. "We have to thank the wonderful actors who have spoken about experiences that have been so appalling," she says. "We all have their backs. We're not going to let those things happen anymore. This is a time of change, of getting rid of those horrendous things, standing together and moving forward."

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Winslet, who moved into producing with Mare, says the 16 nominations the show received overall feel particularly gratifying.

"I was trying to put it into words with my husband [Edward Abel Smith, formerly Ned Rocknroll, 43], and I was like, I feel like all 16 of my children just graduated," she says. "I have been doing this job for nearly 30 years, but when it comes to moments like this one where the work is acknowledged on such a big scale, knowing what it meant to all of us, it feels particularly special."

For more from Kate Winslet, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday, or subscribe here.

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The star had a whirlwind week with the nominations and introducing the first recipient of the L'Oréal Paris Lights on Women prize in Cannes. Winslet, who was part of the selection panel, announced Aleksandra Odić from Germany for her 22-minute film, Frida. "I feel like this award is very special because it not only shows that there are extraordinarily talented women globally, but there is a hunger for their voices to be heard," she says.

Winslet, who joined L'Oréal Paris as a Global Ambassador this year, says the brand reminds her of her mother, Sally, who died in 2017.

"To me the brand means Elnett hairspray and playing dress-up when I was a child," she says. "My mother could never really afford fancy things, but she always had L'Oréal Elnett hairspray and she always had one great lipstick. And so for me, it was experimenting and trying and painting on one's face as almost armor to face the world."