By Lauren Linhard – moxie.lauren@gmail.com

New mom Anne Hathaway will soon be representing fellow mothers around the world as the newest global Goodwill Ambassador for U.N. Women. Her focus will be on the long list of injustices women and mothers face, including unpaid leave, wage gaps and workplace inequality.

“Significant progress has already been made, but it is time that we collectively intensify our efforts and ensure that true equality is finally realized,” Hathaway said. “I feel honored and inspired by the opportunity.”

She will be advocating for progress on issues like paid parental leave, affordable childcare services and the continuing wage gap.

“The ‘motherhood penalty’ … is a particularly insidious demonstration of gender inequality in the workplace,” said U.N. Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngucka. “U.N. Women is driving hard to foster more positive mindsets and practical arrangements around workplaces that build and support equality for women.”

This is a pivotal time – the fight for female equality in the workplace is gaining steam, especially in the U.S, Mlambo-Ngcuka said. It’s unacceptable for the United States to be the only developed country that doesn’t offer paid leave, and for mothers to earn an average of 3 percent less than women without children.

Hathaway will be spotlighting these inequalities on the corporate and government level alongside fellow ambassadors including Emma Watson, Nicole Kidman and Princess Bajrakitiyabha Mahidol.