The 9 to 5 actresses play the title roles in the new Netflix sitcom, which focuses on two women who form an unlikely bond after their husbands, portrayed by Martin Sheen and Sam Waterston, reveal they are gay and are planning to wed.

Fonda and Tomlin took aim at show bosses over the pay disparity during a press conference to promote the series last month (May15), with Fonda sternly stating, "That doesn't make us happy."

Both Sheen and Waterston have agreed their leading ladies deserve a higher salary, and thousands of fans have flocked to website Care2Petitions.com to show their support for the veteran actresses.

Created by fan Emily Logan, she writes on the page that the petition is targeted towards executive producers Marta Kauffman and Howard J. Morris as well as Netflix VP of Original Series Cindy Holland, asking that the bosses address the pay difference immediately.

She writes, "In 1980, Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda co-starred in Nine to Five, a comedy about three women who turn the tables on their sexist, bigoted boss, which showed sexism in the workplace in a bold new light.

"Now, ironically, Tomlin and Fonda have revealed at a press event that despite their new Netflix show Grace and Frankie being directly centered around their two characters, they are being paid the same as the male supporting actors who play their ex-husbands."

Logan's goal is to receive 10,000 signatures, and as of Thursday (04Jun15), more than 9,000 fans had showed their support.