SNL Comedian Sasheer Zamata Named ACLU Celebrity Ambassador on Women's Rights

Actress and comedian Sasheer Zamata, known for her breakout role on the cast of Saturday Night Live, will partner with the American Civil Liberties Union to support women's rights. She joins the ACLU as a celebrity ambassador on the heels of her recent promotion to repertory player for SNL's 41^st season, her third season with the show.

In her role as an ambassador, Zamata will elevate the ACLU's work to fight gender inequality and structural discrimination against women in employment, education, healthcare, housing, and criminal justice through advocacy and public education. The ACLU Women's Rights Project was co-founded in 1972 by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who called women's rights "an essential part of the overall human rights agenda."

Zamata is featured in Sasheer Zamata Says Women's Rights "Still a BFD!" a new ACLU video that puts the spotlight on gender inequality and privilege.

"It's so wonderful that women continue to break down barriers and change societal expectations, but women still suffer discrimination for their gender, class and race," says Zamata. "I am honored to continue the fight for equal economic opportunities, the right to choose, and an end to gender-based violence by serving as an ACLU Celebrity Ambassador."

Though strides have been made in the past several decades to advance and protect the rights of women and girls, there's a lot left to do. In the U.S. today:

• Women make only 78 cents for every dollar earned by a man; African-American women only earn 64 cents; and Latinas, only 55 cents for each dollar earned by a white man;
• A woman's right to choose is threatened by extreme lawmakers who have introduced more than 100 abortion restrictions in 2015 alone;
• Few legal protections exist for pregnant workers and new mothers, putting families in danger of economic instability, though women are the primary breadwinners in 4 out of 10 families with children.

"We are thrilled to name Sasheer Zamata as our newest celebrity ambassador," says Anthony D. Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union. "She is the perfect voice for the next generation, and especially for those looking to effect real and lasting change on women's rights issues."

Zamata--who was named one of Cosmopolitan's "13 Funny Women to Watch in 2014,"--joins Harry Belafonte, Michael K. Williams, Lewis Black, Marlee Matlin, and others, to amplify the ACLU's work on priority civil liberties issues, including mass incarceration, voting rights, disability rights, and LGBT equality.