At The Hollywood Reporter's 2015 Women in Entertainment breakfast Wednesday morning, Barbra Streisand encouraged women to work together — rather than against each other.
"We have to join forces. Women are nurturers, just by our physiology," she told the audience while receiving the Sherry Lansing Leadership Award at the event at Milk Studios in Los Angeles. "We come from the heart, and our instinct for love and compassion is something that this chaotic world needs more than ever."
The 10-time Grammy winner said that women need to band together to support Hillary Clinton and "elect the first American woman president, someone who will represent our values and our interests."
"But that means all of us have to get the rest of us out to vote," she added.
Robert Redford, who co-starred with her in the 1973 movie The Way We Were, presented Streisand with the honor, which recognizes women who serve as pioneers in the world of entertainment. The award has previously been given to Shonda Rhimes, Oprah Winfrey, Meryl Streep, Diane Keaton and Jodie Foster.
"I'd been warned about her that she could be a pain in the ass, and that she was a control freak," said Redford of his former co-star. "But what I found out what that she was a sheer pleasure to work with."
"What I found is that she didn't revolutionize — but she instigated a new kind of beauty," he added before welcoming Streisand, 73, onstage.
Streisand who also won two Oscars and, in addition to her music and film career, Streisand, is a strong philanthropist and activist, launching The Streisand Foundation in 1986 to spotlight women's equality and human rights and has also made charitable contributions to help fight women's heart disease.
During the event, which celebrates THR's annual Women in Entertainment Power List, she spoke about several issues including gender discrimination and women's heart disease.
READ MOREBarbra Streisand on Hollywood's Double Standard: "What Does 'Difficult' Mean, Anyway?"
"Gender discrimination drives me crazy," she said. "Women are still treated as second-class citizens when it comes to equal pay in the workplace and equal representation in Congress."
She added that there is one area where women are surpassing men: "More women are dying of heart disease each year than men. And here is the fact that really shocks me: heart disease kills more women than all cancers combined."
Streisand, who contributes to help fight women's heart disease, has pushed for gender equality in research. "Gender inequality even extends to mice in the labs. They’re all male!" she said. "So even female mice are discriminated against! When I asked why, the answer I got was that female mice have hormones so they’re more complex. Well, so are women!"
She added: "I'm also angry that the right for a woman to control her own body is still an issue."