Women around the world face a so-called motherhood penalty,
meaning when they have children, they lose pay and opportunity
in the workplace, according to UN Women, which promotes gender
equality and economic empowerment.
The U.N. body seeks to make raising children an equal
responsibility for mothers and fathers, said Phumzile
Mlambo-Ngcuka, executive director of UN Women.
"Stereotypes that make it hard for fathers to take time away
from work to care for a child are outdated leftovers from the
'male breadwinner' model and have no place in today's mixed
workforce," she said in a statement.
Hathaway, who won an Academy Award in 2013 for her role in "Les
Miserables," is a long-time supporter of women's rights who will
promote policies such as affordable childcare and parental
leave, said Mlambo-Ngcuka.
"To make the case for how this will increase opportunities for
women, we needed an advocate who had the intellect and passion
to tackle this complex issue. Within moments of meeting Anne, I
realized that we had found our woman," she said.
Known for her roles in "The Devil Wears Prada," "Brokeback
Mountain" and "The Dark Knight Rises," Hathaway also co-hosted
the Academy Awards ceremony with actor James Franco in 2011.
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She has served as an advocate for Nike Foundation, traveled to Kenya
and Ethiopia to raise awareness on child marriage and narrated "Girl
Rising," a CNN documentary film on female education.
"I feel honored and inspired by this opportunity to aid in advancing
gender equality," the actress said in a statement.
Other well-known actresses who have worked as Goodwill Ambassadors
include Angelina Jolie, who represented the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees, and Ashley Judd, who was recently
appointed by the UN Population Fund.
(Reporting by Ellen Wulfhorst, Editing by Katie Nguyen; Please
credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson
Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking,
property rights and climate change. Visit http://news.trust.org)
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